Forever and a Day
by Lenners
Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter were utter and complete opposites.  So, in what world could they get along?  A fic about how L/J came to be.  It starts shortly after their fifth year ends.  Rated T for some kisses, swears and behavior.
1. 1 Apologies of Sorts

**Disclaimer for the whole story: The clever JKR owns Harry Potter. I only write for my own amusement and other's.**

"_And love is a homeless guy  
Searching for treasure in the middle of the rain and  
Finding a bag of gold coins and slowly finding out they're all filled with chocolate and  
Even though he's heart-broken, he can't complain 'cause he was hungry in the first place."_

_Credit to Bo Burnham, the most creative, perverted white rapper I've ever heard._

An Apology of Sorts

Sirius Black left the Hogwarts Express this afternoon, knowing somewhere in his head, something significant was going to happen. He saw his parents standing stiffly on the platform, and before he went to them he turned to James, "I'll write to you tonight to tell you how everything goes. Don't answer or reply."

He knew his parents highly disproved his choice of friends, and as much as he liked to annoy the hell out of them, he could tell something was up when he saw his horrid mother's expression. He left his friends and walked stiffly to his parents.

"Mother," he said hugging her coldly, "Father," he said shaking his hand.

"Sirius," his father said simply.

Regulus had noticed his parent's expressions too and carefully greeted them. The brothers did not acknowledge each other. Why should a Gryffindor and Slytherin converse? They had nothing to say to each other.

Not one word was exchanged on the way home. Sirius only took it as trouble and began skirting away from his parents as soon as he arrived to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

.:.

Lily Evans reached her modest family home in mostly welcome company of her parents. Her sister, Petunia, scoffed at her and refused to be in the same room as Lily.

Lily had gotten used to it, but it still stung that her sister had not yet still accepted her, nearly six years later. She sighed and went to her room to unpack. She was dreading going to her room, for it had so many memories of Severus Snape.

It was almost impossible to comprehend that Severus Snape, who was quiet boy whose friendly letters and thoughtful presents covered all over Lily's room was the same boy who called a mudblood a week ago. He had changed so much fifth year. The increasing attacks and influence of an upcoming Dark wizard who named himself Lord Voldemort had struck fear into everyone's heart. It caused Severus to make good friends with the Slytherins and to eventually fall to their influence.

Lily had known that they were falling out for months now, but she wouldn't have thought in a million years that the word mudblood would ever come from his lips towards her. She felt a lump grow in the back of her throat and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She stubbornly wiped away the tears.

Since the verbal attack from Snape, Lily had gotten many people's sympathies. Nearly everyone in the fifth year Gryffindor dormitory had asked her how she was doing and told her that if she ever needed to talk, they'd be there. She appreciated the effort but was annoyed that she was never left alone.

She realized that she alone now; she noticeably broke down. She laid on her bed and covered her cheeks and pillow in saltwater tear stains.

_Sometimes,_ she thought, _all you need is a good cry._

.:.

_Dear Evans,  
_James Potter scribbled over his messy handwriting, crumbled up the parchment and threw it towards the tower of rubbish in his room. _Too nice._

_Evans, _he wrote. "There, now at least I have the bleeding heading," he said aloud to himself.

.:.

James Potter paced around his room. He was waiting for his owl's return. He sent the apologetic letter a total of 30 seconds ago. He was slightly hoping for a letter in reply. Even if it was a letter full of venom, he'd probably save it. If it had small or no trace of venom, he'd probably send it to his friends, the Marauders.

The Marauders were an inseparable group of now-sixth-year in the Gryffindor house. They met on the train ride to Hogwarts first year and have never left each others' sides, except to the toilet. They weren't girls, for Godric's sake.

James was also waiting for a letter from Sirius to see how his family situation is going. He knew that the rift between Sirius's views and his parents were getting more and more difficult for either to remain neutral, but James just hoped that Sirius would act rationally.

He snorted, Sirius and rationally shouldn't be in the same sentence.

.:.

"Sirius!" a shrill voice screamed up the stairs, "Dinner!"

He gracefully galloped down the stairs and into the kitchen where he found his "perfect" brother already sitting at the table. He sat down, expecting someone to say something. No one did.

"How was home after Easter?" Sirius asked, trying to get any conversation going.

"Fine," his mother simply stated.

The silence ensued.

"Is everything okay?" Sirius asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius noticed that Regulus smirked.

"Sirius," the father said, "Are you aware of a powerful wizard who calls himself the Dark Lord?"

Sirius's fists clench, "Yes."

"Your mother and I think it is best if you break off from your little Gryffindor friends. They won't live long after graduation in the war, and we think that it's best suited if you befriend the old family friends." Sirius looked at his father outraged. His father continued, "If you do not comply with our demands, there will be severe punishment, Sirius." Sirius did not answer. He was boiling inside, but he knew that if he got angry now, it would damage things in the long run.

"Sirius," his mother said sharply, "if you do not leave those mudbloods, half-bloods and blood traitors you call friends, we will disown you. We have enough embarrassment from your placement into Gryffindor. Take a leaf out of your brother's book for a change."

Sirius pushed away from the table rather forcefully, "Embarrassment?" he yelled. "I'm the embarrassment in this family, for actually being good? Do you hear yourself speak? It's inconvincible how ignorant you are, you crazy bitch! Voldemort is going to win the war? All of my friends are going to die? I hope you enjoy seeing your eldest son become an Auror. Rot in hell." With that he stormed out of the dining room and straight up to his room, ignoring the outcries from his parents. It was lucky he hadn't unpacked anything yet; he grabbed his truck, wand and broom and left Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. It would be about eighteen years before he'd enter that house again. He turned to get one last look at his childhood home when he saw Regulus, shock apparent on his face, standing on the doorstep.

"Please Regulus, I'm not asking you to leave with me, but please see the light in this war. Don't become a Death Eater or a slave to Voldemort. Don't get yourself killed doing something stupid," Sirius said to his younger brother, whom he still had a soft spot for.

Regulus looked too shocked for words. Sirius shook his brother's hand, and he could swear that he heard Regulus mutter, "See you at the end of the war, brother. Don't get yourself killed."

He looked at his younger brother, knowing this would be the last civil conversation with his childhood companion. His eyes began to water, "Good-bye, Regulus." He pushed off the ground and took the direction to the Potter Manor.

.:.

It seemed as if Lily's eyes had no more tears to give when a peck on the window immediately alarmed her.

Her eyes focused at the window to see an unfamiliar but handsome barn owl with alarmingly green eyes. She quickly went to the window and opened it. The owl flew in a loop around the room before gracefully landing on Lily's desk. Attached to its leg was a piece of parchment.

Extremely curious now, she untied the parchment with her shaking hands. She unrolled the parchment and scanned the letter, immediately seeing a messy scrawl that she hasn't seen but had an uncanny feeling whose handwriting it was. It read:

_Evans,_

She scoffed at how impolite and informal way the letter started.

_I'm writing this letter to you because every time I try to go and talk to you, you don't let me get closer than 5 meters. Plus, if I tried to say a word to you, I'd end up sounding like a prat. I'm rambling; I know. I also know that I'm the absolute last person you'd want to talk to. But, I feel like I need to apologize. I feel as if I caused the whole incident after the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. Actually, I did. I feel bloody rubbish about it too. Everyone knows I dislike Snape, but you liked him, and there had to be some reason to that. I apologize for the whole scene. I take full responsibilities for what Snape and I said. I know I could not possibly mend what Snape said, but don't blame everything on him._

_If you'd like to reply, you can use my owl. If you don't want to, just tell her to go._

_Sincerest apologies,_

_Potter_

Lily laughed out loud to his rambling. She could tell though that this was a sincere apology. She sort of felt bad that he had taken all of the responsibility; She and Snape would have fallen out eventually.

"Stay right there," Lily ordered the owl. The owl's intelligent eyes showed that she understood. Lily didn't have an owl, so she didn't have owl treats, but the least she could do was give it a break and some water as she wrote.

She skipped down the stairs, hiding her red eyes from her parents. She hated to have people know that she had cried. She quickly filled a small bowl with water and went back upstairs quickly. She placed the bowl near the owl, "Drink."

Pulling out a quill, new piece of parchment and a bottle of ink, she wrote a reply back.

_Potter,_

She figured she'd start the letter the same way he started his.

_Thanks for the letter. It actually meant a lot to me that you wrote it. A real prat wouldn't have. Please don't take full responsibilities towards Severus. We had many disagreements and fights before OWL's, and it just kind of exploded with the incident with you._

She paused, her quill in mid-air, what to write next. She could simply write, Thanks, Evans or she could open up to someone once in her life other than Severus.

_There was a legitimate reason towards liking Snape at first. He was the first that introduced me to the magical world. People change for the better or worse, and he just happened to pick the latter. We've long picked our sides of our lives after Hogwarts, careers and sides of the war. We just happened to pick opposites. It just really seemed to bother me because I was being ignorant that he really hadn't become dark yet. It was too blinding to ignore after the incident. I apologize, as I'm rambling._

_Thanks for everything,_

_Evans_

She carefully tied the note to owl's leg. She patted its luxurious feathers before opening the window. She hoped that Potter wouldn't pick this time to become a prat again.

**This is my second storyline fiction. Both are about James and Lily, but I decided to make this one a little different. First, it starts in a different, earlier spot. Second, the plot will hopefully be more complex (and no handcuffs this time!). Third, the characters will more defined and have more unique personalities. And fourth, I'm going to try to put related quotes to on the top the chapter. Reviews are very welcome, and I always respond to them on the next chapter.**


	2. 2 Old Endings and New Beginnings

_Weep for yourself, my man,  
you'll never be what is in your heart  
weep little lion man,  
you're not as brave as you were at the start  
rate yourself and rake yourself,  
take all the courage you have left  
wasted on fixing all the problems  
that you made in your own head_

but it was not your fault but mine  
and it was your heart on the line  
I really fucked it up this time  
didn't I, my dear?

_Little Lion Man, by the Mumford and Sons_

Old Endings and New Beginnings

A furious but saddened Sirius Black was flying through the night to the Potter Manor. As he had the manor in his sight, the heavens opened up.

The lightening was in sight, and the thunder was strong enough to make the broomstick vibrate eerily. The drops of rain fell forcefully, blinding Sirius.

"Just my bloody luck," he murmured.

.:.

James Potter was sitting in his room, looking out his window to the raining sky. He was worried about his best mate. He knew that Sirius had he'd write, but he hadn't gotten anything yet. When he saw an owl heading to James's closed window, he quickly fumbled with the clasps and opened the window right on time.

His owl, Harold, flew a lap around the room before perching himself onto the top of his cage. He hooted and stuck a foot out, seeming very proud of himself.

James looked incredulous that Lily actually wrote back. He felt his heart skipping around in his ribcage while he untied the letter. As soon as he untied it, however, he heard a knock on the front door of the house.

Torn, James looked at the door, then at the letter. Sighing, he ran downstairs to the door. On his doorstep was the one and only, Sirius Black. Saturated thoroughly and looked quite ruffled, Sirius looked at his best mate.

"I couldn't take them anymore."

"I realized."

"So I ran away."

"I gathered as much."

"And I came here."

"Did you really?"

"And it's raining."

"Quite hard, I'd say."

Sirius paused, not sure what to say now. He was worried that he would not be welcomed. That he would be forced back into his parent's house.

James broke into a large grin, opening the door as wide as possible, "Come in mate. You know you've been welcome here for years now."

He sighed in relief, "Thanks, Prongs."

.:.

Lily watched the owl disappear in the setting summer sky.

"Lily!" a voice came from downstairs, "Come down!"

She gracefully hopped down the stairs and stopped in her tracks once she saw who was at the door.

Severus Snape was standing by the front door, looking awfully anxious. It could be for two very obvious reasons. One, Mrs. Evans was asking how his fifth year went at Hogwarts, or two, he knew that Lily did not want to talk to him, ever.

Mrs. Evans looked at her daughter, shock apparent on her face. Knowing better to question it directly, she said, "I'll leave you two," leaving the room.

Severus spoke quietly, "Can we go for a walk?"

Lily looked at him sharply, "Why? So you can call me a mudblood again? Maybe publicly embarrass me again? Or how about insulting Gryffindors, the people who have not let me down?" She looked at him angrily, her eyes threatening angry tears.

"Lily," Severus said, black eyes pleading, "Please. One walk, after this, I will leave you alone if you want."

She eyed angrily. She wanted to take the hurt out of his eyes, but at the same time, embarrass and hurt him as much he did her. Nevertheless, she could not see any downside other than becoming upset, so she replied, "Fine."

She called out to her parents, "I'm going for a walk; I'll be back." Her parents replied affirmatively, and Lily and Severus left.

They walked in complete silence while Severus led them to the park where they often played as children. Lily was wondering when he'd finally talk when they arrived at the park.

As if he was reading her mind, he inhaled loudly, "Lily," he started, "you've been my best friend for six years. Yes, I still consider you my best friend even though you hate me," he paused, seeing if she had anything to say.

"Hate is a strong word," she muttered.

When she didn't continue talking, he did, "Well dislike me then," he paused, "Words, will never explain how much regret I have to that day."

"Which day? The day you called me a mudblood or became part of the Deatheaters groupie?" she said spitefully.

He grimaced. "See?" she exclaimed, "You don't even attempt to hide the fact that you're planning on following Voldemort after Hogwarts. You're just as bad as Nott or Malfoy!"

Her words hit him hard. At this moment, he was ashamed of his affiliation. He wished so badly that he could go back to a year ago and reject the invitation, be as strong as Lily is.

She saw her own affect. She felt sympathy for him; he was only human after all, "I'm sorry Sev. But this is the way it has to be. We both picked different paths."

He was quiet, "I'm so sorry Lily."

Lily shook her head, "It's too late to change anything. Don't bother to be."

There was nothing between the former best friends except for the occasional cricket or bird chirp.

Lily sighed. The words were said, actions taken and sides picked. "No of this has to be permanent. I'll see you on the end of the war, all right? As long as we both survive, it'll be fine."

_If we survive is more like it,_ he thought to himself. But not wanting to be gloom, he nodded. "Please don't get yourself killed, Lily. You're too important."

She nodded sadly, "You either, Sev." She hugged him tight, for what seemed like the last time. She felt tears form and a lump in the back of her throat shaped. She would not cry.

Severus had felt his eyes water also. He did not cry, not in front of people.

"This isn't a good-bye," Lily started.

"It's a see you later," Severus finished for her, knowing it was one of her favorite quotes.

As Severus finished his words, the sky opened, soaking both of them in seconds. They looked at each other for one last time, and both departed, neither looking back.

.:.

"Mum, Dad!" James called, "Sirius is here!" he paused, "For good!"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter appeared in the foyer, "For good? What happened, Sirius-dear?" Mrs. Potter said worriedly.

"Eh, who cares Andrea? We've got two sons now," Mr. Potter said, shaking Sirius's hand and hugging him.

Sirius could swear that his smile at this moment could not be any more sincere than it was at this moment.

"As happy as I am to have another son, identical to ours already," Mrs. Potter said, hugging Sirius in a very motherly fashion, "I would like to know what happened.

Go place your belongings upstairs in the guest bedroom across from James's room and come back down. We'll enjoy some tea and talk."

Mutely, Sirius nodded. James helped him carry his broomstick and trunk up to his new room.

They silently placed his things in his room. James turned to Sirius, "Well now we're really and truly brothers now, huh?"

Sirius smiled, "We've been brothers since the train ride to Hogwarts first year."

James laughed, "Nothing you've said has ever been as true as that, mate."

James quickly popped his head into his room to grab the letter. He opened it eagerly, looking at the bottom first, seeing that was in fact from Lily. He heart hammered in his ribcage.

"What's that mate?" Sirius said, looking over Sirius's shoulder.

"A letter from Evans," he said, grinning like a fool.

"Yeah, sure, are you sure it's not from Peter again?" Sirius laughed, attempting to grab the letter.

James dodged away Sirius's grasp, "Yes, I'm sure. I sent her a letter apologizing, like Remus suggested, and she wrote back."

Sirius's eyes went wide, "No shit mate? How Remus is good with the ladies is beyond my mental capacity. He never talks to them!"

James snorted, "Many things are past your mental capacity, Padfoot."

Sirius punched him in the shoulder light-heartedly, "What's the letter say, you bloody fool?"

James read the letter twice before he comprehended that it was not a hate letter. Lily Evans had actual civil words for James Potter. For James, it was as good as a love letter.

"What's it say?" Sirius said, snatching the letter successfully this time. His silver-gray eyes scanned the letter. "Wow mate. Remus is truly brilliant, or Evans was held at wand-point."

James, in a daze, said, "She loves me, mate. She just doesn't know it yet."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "C'mon, Prongs. Let's go downstairs."

Both boys trampled down the stairs, pushing each other into the walls on the way down. Sirius was laughing earnestly, even through the day's past events. There was something about their friendship that could make everything bad disappear temporarily.

The dashed into the kitchen, James cutting his best mate off, he said, "Is the tea ready, Mum?"

"In two seconds it will be. Sit yourselves at the table," James mother said, turned towards the cabinets, pulling out four teacups and saucers.

Mr. Potter was seated at the head of the table and his left was his wife's spot. To his right was for James. Sirius assumed the spot right of James. Mrs. Potter magicked the teacups full of tea and saucers over to each spot at the table.

"So Sirius, what happened after you got home?" Mrs. Potter said.

"Well, I could tell something as off immediately. We had an early dinner so I didn't get a chance to unpack really. We had our dinner, and I could notice that they were off. I asked what was going on. In a summary, they told me that I should break off all friendships with anyone in Gryffindor and befriend all Slytherins because everyone against Voldemort is going to die."

Mr. Potter looked immediately angered. He wasn't the Auror Head for nothing. Truth was that a lot of Aurors were dying these days compared to years ago, but Voldemort wasn't all that powerful yet. He was contained right now. They had a list of viable Deatheaters. There had been deaths on the dark side too. The war was not being close to over, he knew, but it was not going to won by either side easily.

Mrs. Potter looked shocked and angry also. She was a retired Auror but a member of the Order the Phoenix. She was still well-respected in the field. She switched fields from her old age into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There had been talk that she would become a member of the Wizengamot, along with her husband, once he retired from the field.

James had a look similar to his father. He knew that he would become an Auror as soon as he graduated from Hogwarts. There had been no question about it. Sure, he had been a prat to Slytherins, but only the ones who deserved it.

"I know," Sirius said, seeing the outrage on their faces. "I was utterly disgusted, and if that was not enough, they told me that I should become a Deatheater and respect the 'Noble House of Black'," Sirius looked thoroughly disgusted. "There was a lot of yelling back and forth, and I couldn't take the differences between us anymore, so I left."

The room was quiet. James clasped Sirius's shoulder with support. Sirius's eyes watered, threatened to spill.

"You are welcomed into this family with no question, Sirius. We are now a family of four, not three," Mrs. Potter added.

"You are brave and good, Sirius. No matter what your parents say," Mr. Potter said.

"If you need from Diagon Alley, feel free to ask me. I don't imagine you have much money, but that is never a problem. You are our son; so therefore, we will buy you things," Mrs. Potter said, "Birthday presents, Christmas presents, pants, school books, and anything else."

Mr. Potter smiled, "I always wanted two sons."

**So this took two weeks to write. That's the usual time for chapters, especially for ones that are this long. I liked some of this. Not really the whole thing. Ah well.**

**I was on vertigo medicine, strong decongestant and allergy medicine yesterday. Yesterday is indeed a fog. I remember carving pumpkins and watching men's ice-skating.**

**Thanks to:**

**diazygrl320 (thanks so much!), Loslote (jessss, of course, look at the name of it too :P), pinkdude64, (lmfao, dirtier side. I didn't even think of it.), BlistersOnMyFingers (Bo Burnham is the chizz, and ohhhh god, I didn't even understand what was wrong about 1876 for a good ten minutes), Magic is like Music (thanks for the review! I hope you like this one!), Coliekinz (thanks! I'm sorry that this took two weeks.), MXlover5 (thanklies!), dementorskiss xoxo (thanks! I'm quite excited for this one!)**

as if


	3. 3 Shocking Realizations

"**Think about this. **  
The person you are going to marry is walking the Earth at this very second.  
That thought alone should give you hope to continue each and every day, knowing someone, somewhere is completely in love with you, even if you both don't know it yet."

_Copied from sixbillionsecrets (dot) com; aka my favorite site in the world._

Shocking Realizations

Lily plopped on her bed and began to cry again. It was the second time in one day. She couldn't help it.

After successfully saturating her pillow again, she wiped her eyes and sat up. Her head throbbed horribly. She got out of her bed and into her bathroom. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked like a mess. Looking at herself, she had a weird feeling come over her.

She couldn't identify it at first, but she realized it was relief. Relief that she couldn't cry anymore; relief that she no longer torn with Sev; relief that she could start fresh.

Inhaling sharply, she left her bathroom. She decided that this summer, she would forget the war, Sev, everything.

How very impossible that turned out to be.

.:.

Sirius Black woke up at eight by himself. Yawning awake and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he got up and walked around his room.

_Hey, maybe that wasn't an amazing dream last night,_ he thought to himself. He smiled.

Sirius Black didn't stop smiling for the day. This was going to be the best summer; he could swear that on his life.

He didn't have to deal with waking up when his parents wanted to, read the Darks Arts books that his parents made him read, do the chores that he's been forced to do since he was five or anything.

_Today, tomorrow, the day after that and the day after that is going to be a good day, _he thought to himself as he walked out of his room and into James's.

"PRONGSIE-POO! WAKEY, WAKEY!" Sirius's voice boomed through the silent room. "C'mon, Prongs. It's eight o'clock, the sun is-," Sirius began, but James had other plans. He whipped a pillow and hit Sirius square in the face.

"You've gotten good at that," Sirius paused and sighed, "Fine. I'll come back in fifteen minutes."

James groaned and rolled over. In what sense could Sirius Black be a morning person? He pulled his pillow over his face and enjoyed the fifteen minute peace.

Sirius, thoroughly bored, wandered in his newly acquired bedroom. He looked the clock. _Great, only fourteen minutes left._

He sat at the desk, intending to write a letter to Remus and Peter what happened. Instead he found Lily's letter laying on his desk from when James showed it to him last night. His eyes glinted mischievously.

.:.

Lily Evans had spent the next day with sheer and extreme boredom. Potter hadn't replied to her letter quite yet, which she took as he was being a prat and was laughing at her exposed emotions. Severus didn't bother her anymore. Her sister avoided her at all costs. Her parents were at work all day.

This was most lonely that she's ever felt.

She could've sent a letter over to the other girls in the Gryffindor House, but she didn't feel the need.

She wandered around her house, desperately hoping to find something to do.

Lily opened her fridge and found nothing of importance. She closed it and plopped on the couch to find nothing of interest on the television. She sighed and got up to look outside the window. She watched a red bird fly around their bird-feeder, and as it flew away, she wandered back into the kitchen and opened the fridge, where she found nothing still.

She sighed, _I need to find something… anything._

.:.

He read the letter and wondered what he could turn it into. …Without James murdering him though.

When he read the letter though, he found that was too low, even for Sirius Black, to play a prank on Evans at this time. She was too broken and vulnerable at the time.

What he did would surprise even himself in later time. He sent his letter to Evans, hoping that what he did would create a positive effect.

He watched Harold until he was past his line of vision. He was delighted to find that it was 8:22 AM. He strolled out of his room and into James's, smiling.

"Sweetie-poo, it's time to wake up," he said, mimicking Lily Evans as best as he could.

Sirius's imitation was close enough to a sleep deprived James. James shot up in his bed and looked around his room, alarmed. When he saw that Sirius was the only one in the room, he glared at Sirius.

"You're a prat, I hope you know."

"But Jamies-poo!" Sirius said in his falsetto voice. James put his glasses on and glared at his best friend. "You never answered my letter, sweetie!" Sirius continued acting like Lily Evans.

James's eyes went wide as galleons, "Shit, Padfoot! I didn't, did I?" He dashed up and ran into Sirius's room, Sirius following him.

"What should I say back?" James said rushed, "She seems to like the sympathy. Godric, what did Remus say? Space and politeness?" He looked at Sirius blankly.

Sirius snorted, "Wrong mate to ask, Prongs."

James rolled his eyes and scanned the letter again quickly, his hazel eyes blurred. With a sudden inspiration, he snatched a piece of parchment and quill and began to write.

_Dear Evans,_

_I'm sorry that I didn't answer last night. Sirius came over, and I got distracted._

_About Severus, I completely understand. You think you know someone, but people change, for the better and for the worse. They drift apart. I hope Severus finds his way back to the light side eventually. I'm always here to talk, if you ever want._

_I apologize for answering late again. I hope you weren't thinking I was a prat._

_Sincerely,_

_Potter_

It was short, but he believed that it was helpful. He glanced around his room for Harold and didn't find him.

"Where's Harold?" James asked Sirius.

"Uh," Sirius stuttered, afraid that he would be exposed of having a soft side, "I let him out to hunt last night. He wanted to be let out."

"Oh, okay," James paused, wondering if Sirius was up to something, "I'll just go use my Dad's owl then."

He disappeared for a few moments and popped his head into Sirius's room, "Want breakfast?"

"Hells yes," Sirius replied.

James's eyebrows drew together, "Hells yes?"

"Yeah, I heard these Muggles use it yesterday at King's Cross. I kind of like it," Sirius said, bouncing out of his room and down the hallway to the stairs.

James laughed, _Only Sirius._ He followed his best friend into the kitchen to see that there was breakfast already made by one of the house elves. He guessed that it was Dunky.

He plumped into his seat and began to shove food in his mouth as fast as he could.

.:.

Lily sighed as she watched a boring documentary on lions. A loud tap on the window shocked her. She looked to see that it was James Potter's owl again.

_Huh, maybe he's not being a prat still, _she shrugged to herself.

She opened the window and untied the letter to see that it was not James Potter's handwriting but someone else's. She looked at the bottom of the letter to see that it was Sirius Black's.

_Wait, Sirius Black's? What the-,_ she thought to herself, but her thoughts were interrupted when another owl flew through the window.

She placed Sirius's letter on a table and untied the other owl's letter. This owl was unfamiliar. _Who is writing to me now?_

She unrolled the parchment to find James Potter's handwriting. Her eyebrows scrunched together. She was bewildered and confused as ever.

"Uh, both of you hold on. Rest here, and I'll get you some water," she walked in the kitchen and brought back two dishes of water and placed them in front of the birds.

She unrolled Sirius's letter to read:

_Evans,_

_I know we're not close or anything, but James showed me your letter last night, and don't be offended; he shows and tells me everything about you that he's ever heard. Quite the best friend I am, telling you that._

_Anyways, I just wanted to say that you're not alone. I know family problems. In fact (and I would appreciate if you didn't tell anyone), I just ran away from my family. They were getting too dark and too controlling for me. Your sister is probably not as separated as you think. I would try to talk to her. She might surprise you._

_I have a younger brother, Regulus, as you probably know. I'm afraid that I've already lost him. He's like Snape. Actually, I believe they're friends._

_What I'm really trying to say here is that I understand. I'm having very similar things happen to me, and if you ever need to talk, send an owl over my way._

_By the way, James is a good guy. That's all I'm saying on that topic… for now. I hope that this letter gets ignored. Also, if you wish to reply, wait until late at night. James doesn't exactly know that I sent this…_

_Cheerios,_

_Sirius_

Lily was speechless. Speechless because Sirius was not the typical player everyone thought he was, because Sirius was nice to her, because he had worse family problems than she, because she would've never guessed it and because he signed his letter off as "cheerios".

She shook her head. She'd answer his letter later. She couldn't even send it until later tonight anyways. She opened James's letter now.

_So maybe he wasn't being a prat,_ she thought to herself. _Maybe, he isn't even a bad guy. Huh… Now who would think I would ever say that?_

**I'm so very sorry. This is only the third chapter, and I'm already being a late updater. I've (unfortunately) have got life to deal with. Hopefully since it's winter break, I'll get another chapter out and get others started.**

**Now thanks to:**

**pinkdude64 (haha, I'm off the meds now! Your review made me spew carrots when I read it. I was also still on medications at that time), dementorskiss xoxo (Gah, I don't like Snape either. There will be little to no amount of Snape in the following chapters.), DarlingILoveYou (Thanks so much! Your review made me grin like a weirdo at my screen), xExpectoxPatronumx (I heart Mumford and Sons. I added more Moony to Love and Reason because I could've sworn you said Remus was missing from that one. Next chapter, I promise), Lilly Luna Potter (Thanks so much! I appreciate your reviews!), child minder (thanks very mucho!).**

**If you didn't read my other story, I would like to advertise it now :D**


	4. 4 Friendship

**A/N: I would like to point out right now that I am American, not British. I try to sound somewhat British because they ARE in Britain… But I can kind of fail sometimes.**

"If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea  
I'll sail the world to find you  
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see  
I'll be the light to guide you

Find out what we're made of  
What we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like one, two, three  
I'll be there and I know when I need it  
I can count on you like four, three, two  
And you'll be there 'cause that's what friends  
Are supposed to do, oh yeah, ooh, ooh"

Count on Me by Bruno Mars

Friendship

Remus Lupin opened his doorstep to find his three best mates with matching mischievous grins. If he had not been so weak and sick, he would have had his own matching Marauder grin on.

"Come on in, all," he simply responded, putting a faint smile on his face. "Mum, Dad, my friends are here."

"Oh hello dears," Mrs. Lupin's voice came from the living room. She was a middle-aged woman with light brown hair. She had barely visible wrinkles or grey hairs. She was muggle who was brought into the Magical World through Mr. Lupin. Mr. Lupin was slightly older wizard with dark brown hair that was specked with white hairs. Mr. Lupin said nothing to the boys but nodded with approval.

"We're going to go play some Quidditch if that all right," Remus said, not quite reaching his parents' gazes.

"Oh that sounds lovely. Have fun!" Mrs. Lupin said, turning her attention back to the cross-word she was previously filling out.

As the teenage boys filed out of the modest family home, James spoke, "So, tonight is going to be great. I can just tell."

Remus grinned lightly, not quite meeting his friends' gazes.

"You all right, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah… I mean I just feel off. Just like any other full moon," Remus smiled a little more earnestly now.

The other two Marauders shrugged it off. They had been with him through so many full moons by now. Sirius had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was off. He made a mental note to himself to ask Remus about it later.

The four boys walked through the Lupin's backyard gate and hiked down to the valley where they would play Quidditch. The Lupins lived in a very rural community, so Remus could safely transform into a werewolf every month. Their nearest neighbors were at least fifteen away. Mr. Lupin, a quite skilled wizard, also casted a charm over the Lupin's property that created an invisible dome that allowed nothing to leave (like a werewolf) or to come (like a non-expecting muggle).

Once they got to the valley, James was the first one to hop onto his Nimbus 1000. Sirius was second by a matter of seconds, jumping onto his own Comet Two Sixty. They two began to weave up and over each other, laughing foolishly. Though they were both graceful flyers, it was obvious that James could out-fly Sirius. His turns were a little more elegant; his technique was a little more cleaner, and he seemed a little more comfortable being fifty feet up in the air.

James sharply curved upwards, and Sirius followed closely behind.

"Want to make a bet who gets hurt first?" Peter asked, holding his hand out.

Remus chuckled, "It's definitely going to be Sirius."

"Well see, I think it's going to be James," Peter said, pointing to James who had just narrowly missed hitting a tree.

Remus and Peter listened at the howls of laughter between James and Sirius, who were at least forty feet above them.

"Ten sickles?" Remus asked, holding his hand out.

"Deal," Peter replied, shaking Remus's hand.

The two on the ground watched the two in the sky. James sped ahead Sirius, leaving him several meters away. Sirius attempted to catch up, leaning forward as far as he possibly could.

Seeing that Sirius was catching up to him, James quickly swerved up, to which Sirius followed suit.

The two were racing each other to the tops of the trees, when James swiftly dove straight down. Sirius dove right after him, almost crashing into a tree top. James remained vertical, and Remus winced. Remus thought James was going to crash straight down, no doubts.

Apparently, so did Sirius. He pulled his broomstick right back to straight a little too roughly. He was quickly swerving around trees while James still shot straight down.

James pulled his broom back to straight, moments after Sirius. And at the last second too, as his feet were slightly grazing the top of the grass field. Remus exhaled, relieved.

Remus heard a sudden gasp from Peter and looked at Sirius. Sirius had still been swerving trees. Unfortunately, he couldn't move quick enough to avoid a maple tree. He crashed into the branches, and though he was still on his broom, he lost all control he had of the broom. He tried to regain control to no avail.

With another attempt to get back on his broom, he completely missed the broom and slipped off forward.

Sirius hit the ground with a large thump, skidding several feet before he stopped. Sirius groaned and started coughing. Remus looked at Peter triumphantly. Remus's triumph didn't last for long though.

James, who was speeding ahead, heard the tumble. He instinctively turned his head around to look for his fallen friend, to which James also lost control of his broom, falling off the front of his broom and onto the ground and skidding twice the distance that Sirius had.

Peter and Remus looked at each other with a dumbfounded look. Remus waited a moment before grinning.

"I believe I won," Remus said, smiling. "Seeing as it was Sirius who hit the ground first."

"But James skidded twice as far as Sirius!" Peter exclaimed.

"And Sirius was at twice the height of James when he fell. Besides, it wasn't the severity of the injury, it was the first injured. Ten sickles, please," Remus said still smiling.

"Damn you, Moony, you and your intelligence," Peter said, reaching into his pocket.

Remus smirked, and Sirius and James waddled over, holding their backs as old men do.

"What are you smiling about, Moony?" Sirius asked. "That very bloody well hurt."

"I would imagine so, Padfoot, but you've just made me ten sickles richer," said Remus as he put Peter's ten sickles into his pocket.

"We'll be fine to play," James said, coughing.

"Get the wind knocked out of you, Prongs?" Peter asked, giggling slightly. James tried to glare at Peter but continued to cough.

"Yeah, let's play some Quidditch!" Sirius said, glancing around for his broom.

The words had barely left Sirius's mouth when heavens roared in protest, and rain started coming hard and fast.

"We can play in a little rain," James said, even though his glasses were already covered in drops of water.

Sirius raced over to him broom and mounted it, but Mother Nature still had other ideas. Streaks of lightning were shot down from the sky, and the thunder shook the ground.

"Oh, what's lightning?" Sirius yelled over to his friends. "Nothing that could interfere with Quidditch!" He mounted onto his broom forcefully, possibly rebelling in some sort.

Mother Nature must've very much disproved of Sirius Black or perhaps Quidditch, as huge gusts carried Sirius from where he hovered to five feet into a large tree trunk.

"I don't think Quidditch is in the cards today, mate," Remus said, squinting through the rain.

"But Moony," Sirius whined like a young boy to his father. His voice was slightly drowned out by the pouring rain.

"Sirius, it's going to be a bloody monsoon in a couple minutes. It's high time to go inside now."

James had mounted his broom again too (to which Remus groaned), "Hey Padfoot, I'll race you back to Moony's house!"

Sirius Black was never one to turn down a challenge. "You're on!"

With that, the two raced each other back to Remus's modest family home. Remus had no siblings or much of a family actually. He rarely met his mother's side of the family for the fear of accidental magic. His father's side was magical, but he still didn't see much of them either. When Remus was a young child, he remembered meeting many wizards and witches that were related to him somehow, but his visits stopped soon after his incident as a child.

Nine-year-old Remus wondered what had happened to his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Every once in awhile, some would pop up for holidays and leave soon after. He didn't really question it.

As Remus grew up, he realized what had truly happened to his extended family. After Remus had been bitten, they avoided him like the plague. _An innocent boy had turned into a werewolf, and now it wasn't safe or desirable to be around him_, Remus thought bitterly to himself.

He looked at his friends, a little more grateful now. James and Sirius were fighting the gusts of winds, swerving dangerously close to each other, more trees and the Lupin's shed.

"Shall we walk back with a water repelling charm?" Remus asked Peter.

Peter exhaled, relieved, "Good thing you remember stuff, Moony! I was going to ask if you had a spare umbrella on you!"

Remus frowned slightly at his friend but casted the spell. They began to walk together. Peter did have spurts of genius inspirations, especially for pranks, but he didn't seem to think so much in common sense. He didn't seem to have mind of his own, either. It worried Remus about Peter's life out of Hogwarts. He hoped he would develop a personality of his own and quite quickly. He wondered what would happen to Peter's innocent and naïve values when he didn't have the Marauders to shield him from the darkness.

He shrugged internally. He would have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Meanwhile, Remus had other things to worry about, like tonight. His parents didn't keep full moons noted on their calendars anymore like they had when Remus was a child, but it would truly only take his parents to take one look outside at the moon for them to realize.

Not to mention, any full moon is difficult. He couldn't properly sleep for days a full moon. As much as he appreciated his friends doing such a wonderful thing for him, it caused Remus a great deal of stress. He always worried that he was going to seriously injure one of his best mates.

There was no Pomfrey to heal up accidental wounds either. The boys were mediocre at healing spells and potion, but they were no Healers.

James and Sirius reached the Lupin's mud room, coughing, laughing hysterically. They heard loud voices coming from the family room, and the two boys silenced immediately.

"Is that Mrs. and Mr. Lupin?" James whispered to Sirius.

Sirius nodded in reply.

"I told you that it was a bad idea to tell him, Margret!" Mr. Lupin's voice was heard in the mud room. The boys froze like statues.

"He's our son, Robert! He has a right to know!" Mrs. Lupin's yelled back.

James felt awkward and guilty. They shouldn't be eavesdropping. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin were the quiet, nice couple, filling crosswords out together, reading books together, going on a walk at eight o'clock every night.

But what on Earth could they be yelling about?

"He won't even look at us in the eye! How was telling him right?"

"Would you prefer that I just died, and he had no explanation?" Mrs. Lupin's shrill voice cracked.

Sirius and James looked at each with their mouths agape. An awkward silence settled between the married couple.

Finally, Mr. Lupin spoke quietly, "You know I didn't mean it like that. We'll just have to visit that hospital in France. The one Healer Jones recommended. She said they've gotten the furthest research in leukaemia."

Hitched breaths came from Mrs. Lupin, "I know, Robert. I know." They could hear Mrs. Lupin start to sob.

James and Sirius looked at each other. James motioned that they should leave the room, and Sirius silently agreed.

They stood silently on the Lupin's back porch. After a few moments, Sirius spoke, "Let's not bring this up to Remus."

James gave Sirius an affronted face, but Sirius cut him off, "At least not until the full moon is over. He's got enough on his plate right now. Besides, he would tell us when he wanted us to know."

James nodded, "Poor Lupins. Out of everyone in the world, I'd think they deserve this least."

"Prongs, what's leukaemia?" Sirius asked.

"It's a muggle disease. It has something to do with your blood, I think. It's fatal, and they haven't found a sure cure for it yet. Muggle or magic."

Sirius frowned, "I always thought magic could solve everything."

Remus and Peter walked up to the porch. Peter spoke, "Sorry Padfoot, but you can't have food appear magically."

Sirius looked cross for a quick moment, but realizing that Remus was there, he quickly extinguished it. He settled for a friendly glare.

Remus cleared his throat and spoke, "Let's go inside, shall we?"

They agreed James and Sirius a little too enthusiastically, and they entered the home. Sirius and James were making a considerable amount of noise. This time, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin heard the entrance of the boys. As they entered the family room, Remus's parents were sitting how they were when they left, seeming to be completely unperturbed.

They entered the kitchen, and Sirius's stomach grumbled quite loudly. James snorted; Remus chuckled, and Peter wheezed.

"I'm a growing boy!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Let's get you some food, Padfoot," Remus said, turning to open the pantry door, to which James already helped himself to opening. He was browsing through Muggle boxes and magical ones too.

"What the bloody hell is Marmite?" James said, grimacing and holding a jar. "It looks like jarred poop."

.:.

The sun was setting, and the sky had cleared from the violent storm. Remus quietly walked into the guest bedroom. It had three beds, as the Lupin's didn't have much company other than the Marauders. The boys picked their beds during the summer after their first year of Hogwarts. Peter was the first bed; Sirius was in the middle, and James had the bed next to the window. It fit the three boys comfortably, but it was impossible to imagine being there longer than two weeks.

Remus peeked his head in the room, "Hey."

James looked over, "Who's there?"

Sirius, who didn't hear Remus, said, "I was just going to say a knock-knock joke! How did you know?"

Peter, who didn't notice Remus either, groaned, "Not the orange one again, Padfoot."

James rolled his eyes, "I was talking to Remus, you twats."

Sirius and Peter turned around to see Remus grinning faintly.

"I'm leaving for the shed now. Do not come out for an hour after the full moon is shown, okay?"

"Got it, Captain Moony," Sirius said, saluting Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Okay?" He directed it to James.

"Okay, mate. We'll be there," James said sincerely.

"Yeah, don't be such a worry-wart!" Sirius chipped in.

Remus nodded and left, a little more comforted than he was, thanks to James. After he left, Peter turned to the other two boys.

"I almost said, 'Have fun!', but that's not acceptable, is it?"

Sirius barked a laugh, and James began to laugh himself. James patted Peter on the head, "What are we going to do with you, Pete?"

A thought suddenly struck Sirius, and he began to frown. "Should we tell Peter?" he asked to James.

James's grin immediately wiped off his face, "Yeah, I figure we should."

"Tell Peter what?" Peter asked, confused.

"Remember when James and I raced back to the house?" Sirius asked.

Peter nodded, still confused as ever. "Well, see we were in the house, and we kind of accidently overheard something…"

The two boys recounted the story back to Peter. He just sat there, processing everything.

"Mrs. Lupin has leukaemia?" Peter asked quietly, looking at both James and Sirius

James and Sirius nodded sadly.

"But, she's such a nice lady," Peter said sadly. "She hasn't harmed anyone in her lifetime. Why?"

James and Sirius exchanged looks, and James spoke, "I dunno, Pete. That's what we're wondering."

Sirius glanced out the window and noticed that the moon was fully out now. He bounced over to James's bed and opened the window a crack. Sirius could hear faint howls and yelps from inside the shed.

He had a strong urge to leave the house now to help Moony, but he knew that James wouldn't allow him. The moon had been full for barely thirty minutes.

"Remus hasn't harmed a soul either, Pete. He doesn't deserve his condition," Sirius spoke quietly.

James and Peter looked at Sirius, who was looking out the window at the shed. They both silently agreed with Sirius.

"The world is cruel," Peter spoke after a couple minutes.

Sirius and James looked at him. Sirius patted him on the back, "Welcome to the beginning of adulthood, mate."

They sat in silence for what felt like an hour to Sirius.

"Can we go outside now?" Sirius asked, impatiently. "Just to practice transforming. We haven't been able to transform in a month, and I'd like to be comfortably a dog."

James looked at Sirius blankly, "Yeah, I guess that would all right. We can help Peter if he needs it too."

Peter flushed, "I got it right the last time!"

But, James and Sirius were already leaving the room, quietly as possible.

The three friends quietly tip-toed down the stairs and through the family room. They snuck out the door and locked it magically behind them. The shed was a good distance away from the house, and they could hear their friend suffering a lot clearer than in their room.

All three of them had to fight the urge to break into the shed and rescue Moony then. Hearing him but not being able to help him killed all of them.

"Erm, okay, Pete," James said, "Go ahead and transform. We'll make sure nothing bad happens."

Peter's stomach dropped, and his palms began to sweat. This was the worst part. He could transform back into a human with no problems. A majority of the time, he transformed into a rat with no problems, but every once in a while, he would transform into a rat/human mutant, unable to move.

He inhaled and exhaled. He felt his body changing form by shrinking. He felt his tail grow through. His whiskers grew, and his ears shifted. Fur began to grow at an alarming rate. He squeaked and began to run around.

"Woah, Peter!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Nice one, Wormtail!" James said, grinning.

Peter scrambled around his friends, squeaking excitedly.

"Padfoot, you want to go next?"

"It'll be my pleasure, Prongs."

With that, Sirius closed his eyes and transformed into a rather large, shaggy dog. Sirius wagged his tail and barked excitedly.

"What a good doggy!" James said, ruffling the fur on top of his head.

Sirius growled and nodded towards the shed. He wanted to let Remus out and now.

James nodded back. He now closed his eyes and willed his body to transform. Instead of shrinking, like the rest of his friend, he felt himself grow taller. He opened his eyes to look down fur. He had also been successful in transforming.

He got the attention of the dog and rat. Wormtail ran up Prong's leg and onto his back. Together, they opened the shed door, releasing the werewolf.

The werewolf glanced at the new opening suspiciously. He stared at the animals, deciding if they were friends or foes.

Moony took one step out of the shed and howled at the moon quite loudly. Maybe because he recognized his animal friends, maybe because he was free from the shed, maybe he was even excited to run around and forget about his problems.

Moony ran straight into the forest, with Padfoot following behind and Prongs, with Wormtail gripping on his back for dear life. This was friendship in the most pure way possible.

**I'm really sorry that this chapter took forever. The other story has priority at the moment. I honestly can't even remember the last time I updated. Was it during Winter Break? I'm really sorry :\ But I would just like to say that I'm not going to give up on any fic. So, be patient with me, peas and carrots.**

**And like always, thanks to:**

**Loslote, Pinkdude64 and dementorskiss xoxo.**

**I'm actually going to start messaging people with replies instead of putting them in here.**

**And again, I'm really super sorry, guys.**

uje%$


	5. 5 New Times, New Friends

"One of the greatest things about being a teenager is the sharing, the closeness and the great times you have with your friends." -Unkown

New Times, New Friends

Remus Lupin woke up, human again, on the floor of the shed.

He looked at his body and a couple of scratches and bruises. _Nothing too bad, _he thought to himself. He flexed and stretched his legs, arms and neck, which to all seem to be in working order. He sighed, relieved.

He stood up, aching only slightly. He walked out of the shed, blinded by the morning sun. He glanced around and didn't see any of his friends, which Remus took as a good sign.

He slowly walked into his house, and he head began to throb painfully. He opened the door to the guest room, seeing all three of friends asleep. He sighed in relief.

They had gotten through yet another full moon with minimal damage. He quietly closed the door and walked into his room. Without undressing or even getting under the covers, he fell asleep.

.:.

Lily paced around her living, restlessly. Over her first weekend home, she unpacked her trunk, did her laundry and even started her assignments. When she finished her Charms work, she drew the line.

Realizing she didn't answer her letters (and glad that she had something to do), she quickly went upstairs to her bedroom. Sirius's and James's letters still sat there. With no owl to send a reply back…

She needed to go to Diagon Alley and get herself an owl.

But she couldn't possibly do that today; her parents would be worried sick if she wasn't on home in time. Besides, there was no way to get to London easily.

She sighed and stood up slowly. She decided to go to the local library, even if it meant passing the park her and Severus had met for years.

_It's not like he would be there,_ she thought to herself.

.:.

When Remus Lupin finally awoke, he saw a blurry outline of James Potter's face about three inches away from his own face.

Remus recoiled and nearly fell off his bed, "Bloody hell, Prongs!"

Sirius howled with laughter, as did Peter.

James grinned, "Good morning, Moony. How are you feeling?"

"Well, other than that major heart attack I'm having right now, I'm fine. How are you guys?"

James shrugged, "You ripped off Sirius's arm, but it was no big deal."

Remus looked wide-eyed at Sirius, who in turn exclaimed, "Gotcha!"

Remus punched James's arm, and quite hard, he'd like to add.

James rubbed his arm, "Take a joke, mate!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "What really happened? And no jokes this time!"

Sirius spoke this time, "Well, you recognized us almost immediately this time. That was the only thing that was different. We pretty much just ran around, like always."

"And the injuries?"

Sirius shrugged, "Well, I have a couple little scratches." He lifted up his shirt to reveal long scratches along his ribcage. They didn't look little, but they would heal fine on their own.

Sirius continued, "James has a little bruise on his buttock, but I'm sure you don't want to see it. Pete's fine too. He's been getting better at avoiding you."

Remus sighed, "Nothing serious then?"  
Sirius cracked a grin, "Seriously."

Remus punched him in the arm, "Let's get breakfast, yeah?"

He was met by four very enthusiastic replies.

Shortly after, the four boys sat around the Lupin's table, eating breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin both had left work already.

"Another bowl, Padfoot? That must be your fourth," James said, digging into his own bowl.

Remus gave him a look, "That's your third, Padfoot."

Peter spoke quietly, "This is my fifth…"

Remus, James and Sirius began to laugh. Peter began to laugh too, glad that his friends thought he was funny.

Once the laughter died down, Sirius spoke a little more seriously now, "So, how are you doing, Moony?"

Remus swallowed his food and began to tap his fingers on the table, "I've actually got something to tell you guys…"

.:.

Lily grimaced at the sun as she walked out of her house. She blinked quickly for her eyes to adjust, and she could swear that saw someone in a dark cloak hiding in the bushes across the street from her. She placed her hand over her eyes and narrowed her eyes at the bush.

There was nothing there.

Figuring that the sun was playing tricks on her, she shrugged and continued on her way to the library.

Walking down the street, she felt slightly nostalgic. She passed her primary school, where she was taught before going to Hogwarts. And of course, she passed the playground she played frequently before Hogwarts.

She saw a bunch of muggle children, off from school for the summer. She saw the various mothers running around, tending to scraped knees, scraped elbows, stolen sand toys and accidental swallowing of sand.

Lily smiled; she was glad that she still had years before becoming a mother. She loved children, but she couldn't even picture herself as one of the mothers at that park.

She walked into the library, the cool air-conditioned breeze and smell of books welcomed her. She inhaled happily.

She passed the children's books and continued to her favorite ones. Lily was slightly shocked when she saw a teenage boy, also looking at the books. He was taller than she and had dark brown hair. Intending to continue on her business, she stood next to him, glancing at the titles.

The boy noticed that Lily was standing next to him, and Lily could tell that he was checking out her butt.

"Excuse me, but I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't stare at my butt," Lily said as calmly as she could. She noticed from the corner of her eye that he started grinning.

He held out his hand, "I'm Thomas Blacksmith. I most commonly go by Tom though, and you are…?"

Lily looked at him, slightly shocked, "I'm Lily Evans." She shook his hand.

"I apologize for staring at your lovely butt. There was no reasoning other than I'm a bloke," he said, still shaking her hand.

Lily turned slightly pink, "Er, that's all right, I guess."

"I'm not usually at the library, by the way. I'm picking up a couple books for my sister. She's sick and tends to complain a lot when she's bored. I was trying to decide what books she would like best."

"I bet," Lily said, slightly sarcastic.

Tom's eyebrows rose, "Do you really think that I enjoy books like these?" He held a brightly colored pink book with girls on the cover who were whispering to each other.

Lily laughed quietly and shrugged, "No judgment."

Tom laughed too, "Well I guess you don't know me that well." He paused, "Wait, I don't even think I've ever even had seen you around. Where do you go to school?"

Lily's brain went dead for a few moments before replying, "Leicester Academy. It's a boarding school."

"That would explain why I never see you," he said, snapping his fingers.

_That's because I just made it up_, Lily thought to herself.

"So, you read books, right?"

Lily looked at him, eyebrows rising significantly.

He put his hand in front him, surrendering, "Whoa, Lily. I was just asking a question. You could probably petrify someone with that look." He paused, apparently losing his train of thought, "But really, would you suggest this book?" He held a book a mermaid on it.

Lily placed her hands on her hips, "If your sister is six and enjoys mermaids."

He placed the book back onto the shelf, "Well see, we're twins. We're both sixteen."

Lily laughed again, "Why are you looking books for a sixteen year old in the children's section?"

He shrugged, "I have no clue what she reads. All I know is that they're books."

Lily rolled her eyes but picked a few books out for him to hold.

"So, how old are you?" he asked while Lily continued to look for books.

"Same age as you, sixteen," she responded, pulling out a book out of the shelf.

"Is that school you go to for incredibly smart people or what?" Tom asked, sitting down on the floor while Lily put back the book and pulling out another. "Or it is for discipline?"

Even as he asked the question, he knew (by the looks of her) she wasn't one to get into trouble.

"Er, well, it's a school for gifted people," she said, slowly picking out her words.

He was about to ask another question when she cut him off, "Where do you go to school then?"

"Knottingham Secondary School," he replied. "It's just the school that's down the street that way," he pointed in a needless direction.

Lily nodded, "That's the school my sister goes to, Petunia. Have you heard of her?"

Tom made a face, "Are you really?"

Lily laughed, "I take it you do know her."

"Not a very pleasant one, is she?"

Lily shrugged, not quite answering.

"She never told anyone she even had a sister, either."

She shrugged again, "I didn't expect her to. I'm not around very often, and we don't really get along too well."

Tom shrugged too, "I guess I get along quite well with my sister then. So, when do you go back to this school?"

"Not until September," Lily asked curiously. "Why?"

"Oh nothing," he said, attempting (but failing) to sound innocent.

She ignored his comment and began to walk to the check-out counter, intending to go back home and read.

"Are you just going to leave me with all these books?" he asked her retreating figure.

She snorted lightheartedly and turned around, "You've got three books. You're a man."

"Will you at least show me what to do now? I don't reckon I just leave with them, do I?" Tom asked helplessly.

She rolled her eyes, smiling, "Oh come on."

He sighed, relieved, "Thanks."

After finishing checking out the books, they headed towards the exit.

Tom turned to Lily, "Hey, thanks a lot for today. It was really nice meeting you."

Lily laughed nervously, "No problem, I couldn't let you pick a mermaid book."

Tom also laughed nervously. He scratched the back his neck, "Yeah… I was wondering if I could have your telephone number?"

Lily flushed pink faintly, "Um, sure."

Tom pulled a pen out of his pocket and handed to her. Realizing that he had no paper, he offered his arm.

Lily rolled her eyes, amused by his logic, but nonetheless she neatly printed her telephone number on his arm. She handed his pen back, and he beamed at her.

"Thanks! Are you going to be free the next couple of days?"

Lily didn't have any plans for another three months.

She paused a moment before responding, "I believe I will be."

"Then I guess I'll just be seeing you around then," he winked at her and walked away.

Lily also began to walk home, but glancing back at Tom, she saw staring at his hand, grinning.

.:.

Lily arrived back at home, elated. Her mood improved even more when only five minutes later, an owl arrived, with a letter for her:  
_Dear Lily,_

_How are you doing? Hopefully not too terribly bored._

_Marlene, Dorcas, Mary and I are going to Diagon Alley to hang out and get some summer things. We would love for you to join us. We're meeting at the Leaky Cauldron at noon on Wednesday. Owl me with a response with my owl, Heather._

_Sincerely, _

_Alice Prewettt_

Lily smiled at the letter. She wasn't particularly best friends with Alice, but she would say they were good friends, nonetheless. Alice was eerily similar to Lily.

Lily and Alice battled for the top of the class very often. Lily usually was top of Charms and Potions while Alice was the top of Herbology.

Grabbing a spare piece of parchment, she wrote back an enthusiastic "yes", sending it back with Alice's owl.

The owl had barely left Lily's room when another one entered, carrying yet another letter. Lily untied the letter, and it read:

_Dearest Lily,_

_How are things going, sweetie? I hope that Snape isn't bothering you. You're going to be so much better off without him. He doesn't deserve you, and you better remember it! I don't want you to be cooped up in your house all summer, so you better be expecting my owl a lot more often! Alice, Dorcas, Mary and I are all going to Diagon Alley for some ice cream and shopping. It would be an absolute treasure for you to join us._

_Wishing you well,_

_Marlene McKinnon_

Lily smiled fondly at the letter. Marlene had always been the sweetest girl. Out of all her dorm-mates, she felt especially close to Marlene. She always listened to Lily whenever she'd rant about James Potter, Severus, James Potter, her sister and James Potter. She always calmed Lily down from doing something rash and gave good advice when she first dated Caradoc Dearborne in third year.

Marlene was one of those genuine people who cared about you, and Lily greatly appreciated it.

Writing another positive reply, Lily was only slightly surprised when a third owl entered Lily's room.

Lily guessed that it was from Dorcas, and she was right.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope your summer isn't too terribly boring. It's been only four days since we've left, so I can't imagine that you've been that bored._

_I bet you finished your Charms homework already though._

_Anyways, Marlene, Alice, Mary and I are going to Diagon Alley to get some fantastic ice cream. Then Marlene and Alice are probably going to drag me around shopping. I apologize in advance._

_We're meeting in the Leaky Cauldron around noon on Wednesday, so you better be there!_

_Yours truly,_

_Dorcas Meadowes_

Lily laughed to herself at Dorcas's bluntness compared Alice and Marlene. Dorcas was extremely athletic and a Quidditch player. She wasn't necessarily a tom-boy but not quite a girly-girl. She was extremely calm and tended to be a mediator between fights and disagreements. In their dormitory, she was the voice of reason.

Expecting Mary's owl soon, Lily wrote quickly, "I'll be there, and yes, I did finish my Charms!" on yet another piece of parchment. She was going to need to pick up some more parchment on Wednesday, along with an owl.

She sent Dorcas's owl out of the window, seeing another (and hopefully final for the day) approaching her window. Lily unrolled the parchment, expecting a letter similar to Marlene's.

_Hi Lily!_

_How's the muggle world treating you? Miss Sluggy yet? Yeah, I don't. I'm going to Diagon Alley Wednesday with Alice, Dorcas and Marlene. We would love if you came with too._

_Since we're both Muggle-borns, I realized two things. One, you probably don't have an owl, and two, you don't have floo powder. I can come pick you up (I can drive now! Isn't that cool?), and we can drive into London together. Also, you can use my owl to send any letters out if you need to. I'll hopefully be seeing you soon!_

_Sincerely,_

_Mary McDonald_

Lily realized as she was reading it that she didn't have any floo powder. She was appreciative of Mary. She was also extremely sweet and helpful. She was also on the Quidditch team, but she still had a girly image about her.

Lily scanned the letter again and wrote a reply:

_Dear Mary,_

_Thank you! I will be coming with all of you to Diagon Alley, and I would love to get a ride from you. You can drive? I wanted to this summer, but I don't find much of a need of it. Thank you so much in advance!_

_See you soon,  
Lily Evans_

She realized that she still hadn't answered James's or Sirius's letters yet. Sighing and pulling out two more pieces of parchment, she composed a reply to each boy.

_Potter,_

_It's quite all right. Thanks for the advice. I talked to him yesterday, and we both know we've chosen different paths. It's difficult, but I don't think he'll be coming over to the lighter side of things anymore._

_Thanks again,_

_Evans_

She pulled out Sirius's letter and read again. She still felt surprised, even days later, at his kindness. She re-read the line, "_Your sister is probably not as separated as you think. I would try to talk to her. She might surprise you._" After she sent this reply, she decided she was going to make some tea for her sister. She quickly wrote back:

_Black,_

_Thanks… I'm not going to lie, but I was extremely surprised that you even wrote me letter. I think I will take your advice and make my sister some tea after I send this._

_And about your family, forget about them. Everyone chooses different paths in life, and I think Potter has already accepted you as a brother anyways._

_Best of luck,_

_Evans_

_P.S. The owl is Mary's. Potter is going to get a letter soon from the same owl. Don't act surprised._

She attached all three letters to the owl, explaining which person to go to first. She also gave it a bowl of water to drink out of.

Watching the owl fly out of the horizon, Lily felt happy. Her dorm-mates promised Lily they would keep in touch over the summer, and Lily was delighted they had. Even Potter and Black seemed to adopt her in some weird way.

She went downstairs in a daze and began to make tea for her sister.

**A/N: Two reviews? I kind of deserved it. But, look at how fast I updated just now! Hopefully I'll get an average speed that's acceptable. But since I have a plot outline, I just want to keep writing! Oh, and does anyone know if a possession of James is James's or James'? I think it's James', but I feel weird writing that. What type of owl should Lily get?**

**Thanks to: Loslote and dementorskiss xoxo. You both make me happy.**


	6. 6 Harvey, Merlin and Potter

_"When I was a little girl I used to read fairy tales. In fairy tales, you meet Prince Charming and he's everything you ever wanted. In fairy tales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy is always wearing a black cape so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought. You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot; he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair." _–Taylor Swift

Harvey, Merlin and Potter

Lily woke up to the phone in her room ringing. Blinking various times, she tried to get out her bed.

Tried, because she was much too tangled into sheets to get out of the bed. Instead, she fell onto the floor.

"Oomph," Lily scrambled on the floor to get the stubborn sheets untangled, but by the time she began to finally walk towards the phone, it stopped ringing.

The answering machine picked up, and she heard a telemarketer's voice brightly announce that their phone company would be lowering their rates when they signed up for a two-year contract.

"Stupid telemarketer's," Lily mumbled and dragged her feet back into her bed.

Lily must have been lying in her bed for two minutes when the phone began to ring again.

"I am _not_ getting up for that," Lily grumbled to herself.

"Lily," Petunia's voice screeched, "There's a boy on the phone wanting to talk to you!"

Lily woke up immediately and hurried to pick her phone up, "Hello?"  
"Hello, Lily," a voice pleasantly said on the other line. Lily didn't recognize the voice for a moment until he continued, "It's Remus."

Lily's eyebrows scrunched together, "Remus?"

He laughed, "Yes, Remus Lupin."

Lily was still confused but still asked, "Er, well how are you, Remus?"

More laughing at came from Remus, "I actually called to ask you that." He paused, "Or how you're holding up."

"You have a telephone?" Lily asked instead of answering his question.

"Oh…" Lily's voice trailed off.

"Anyways, the reason why I called was to see how you were doing," Remus pressed.

"I'm doing all right. I've actually received the same concerns from Potter already," Lily said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh?" Remus sounded surprised, and Lily heard other voices in the background.

It sounded an awful lot like someone (Potter) saying, er, singing "I told you so" over and over.

"Remus?" Lily asked, "What's going on?"

Remus sighed, "I thought James was lying when he said he wrote a letter, and you answered.

"Well, it happened," Lily laughed.

Suddenly, Lily heard the phone being fumbled around and hitting the ground. There was a loud noise that she assumed was the phone hitting the floor.

She sighed, figuring if she hung up, they would only call back. She would count to ten, and if there was no one on the end of the line, she would hang up.

_Ten, nine, eight seven-_

Lily heard more fumbling and (she assumed) wrestling over the phone.

_Six, five, four, three-_

"Hello, Evans? Are you still there?" Sirius voice came through the receiver.

"Yes, I am," she replied, a little impatient.

"Sorry, there was a slight disagreement to who would talk to you," Sirius explained.

"Oh, really?" Lily said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Sirius said, not detecting the sarcasm. "James was going to say something stupid, THAT HE WOULD HAVE REGRETTED," Sirius screamed into the phone, and he seemed to be talking to James instead of Lily.

"Okay, Sirius," Lily said dully, twirling the phone cord around her finger.

Sirius paused for a moment and started laughing, "Did you just call me Sirius instead of Black?"

"What? No!" Lily said, realizing her slip-up.

"Yes you did! You said, 'okay, Sirius'! You like me now!" Sirius said in such a way that Lily guessed that he was smiling.

"No, I didn't! I have to go now. Good-bye, Sirius!"  
You did it aga-!" Sirius's voice was interrupted by Lily putting down on the receiver.

_That was weird. Why did I call him Sirius? Even more so, why did I call him Sirius twice? It must be the lack of sleep. Of course! It's too early for my mind to function,_ Lily reasoned with herself, yet again dragging her feet back towards her bed.

Before Lily was back in her bed, the phone rang again.

Sure that it was Sirius, she yelled into the phone, "I swear to Merlin, Black! I did not call you by your first name!"

A confused and unfamiliar voice came through the receiver, "My last name's not Black. It's Blacksmith. Tom, remember? And Merlin? Are you a fan of magicians?"

Lily slapped her forehead, "I'm so sorry. It's just that some other bloke just called, and I kind of just hung up on him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and I was slightly expecting for him to call back," Lily explained, embarrassed. "So how many boys do you have on the other line?" Tom said jokingly.

Lily laughed, "Oh they're just from school."

"Oh…" Tom said, dejected.

"Oh, no, no! They're just sort of acquaintances. They're not even my friends," Lily attempted to explain.

The phone began to beep, signaling that someone else was on the other line. Lily silently cursed herself.

"So I – to ask – thing," Tom tried to say as Lily's phone continued to beep. "Do – nt to – with me?"

Lily sighed, "I'm really sorry, but someone is on the other line, and I don't think he'll give up if I don't answer, so excuse me for a moment please."

"Uh, okay, sure," Tom stammered.

Lily switched to the other line, "Hello?"

"Evans! What kind of way is that to treat someone you care about? Rudely hanging up on them in the middle of a conversation? I mean, who does that?" Sirius exclaimed.

Lily sighed, "There's someone on the other line, Black. I kind of need to get back to them."

"Ouch, Evans. No need to be harsh, especially because I know you care deeply about me, calling me by my first name and everything!"

Lily groaned, "It was once and on accident, Bl-."

"Twice actually, counting the one you said before you hung up," Sirius said, and Lily could practically feel Sirius's grin through the phone.

"Okay, accidently twice, but I really need to go. There's someone on the other line," Lily said urgently.

Instead of Sirius answering, Lily heard fumbling of the phone and arguing voices. She switched over to the other line again, "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm here. Are your friends okay?"

Lily sighed, "Insane, but they're fine, thank you for asking. So what were you saying?"

"Oh, uh, I was just wondering if you want to do something today? Like the movies? Or maybe dinner?"

Lily's stomach began to flip wildly. She kept her voice calm and level, "Yeah, sure."

"Great! I'll pick you up at five?"

"Yeah, sounds great," Lily replied.

The phone beeped again, signaling again that someone was on the other line. She said her good-byes to Tom and slowly switched to the other line.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Lily Evans, must I remind you that hanging up on a loved one is quite unacceptable?"

"Sirius Black, must I remind you that you are not one of my loved ones?" Lily countered, and she hung up her phone again.

.:.

Lily heard a loud car horn beep several times before she looked out of her bedroom and saw Mary, waving frantically.

Lily waved back to Mary, equally enthusiastic to get into the car. Wednesday had finally come, and Lily felt like it couldn't come any sooner. She hadn't been lonely, that was definite…

She climbed into the passenger side door quickly while Mary said, "Long time, no see."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, a whole five days!"

Mary laughed and put her car into reverse. "It's a very long time. I've got something to confess though," she started.

Lily only looked at her, guessing that Mary didn't truly have her driver's license. Lily looked at her mailbox apprehensively.

Mary saw Lily worry and laughed, "No, no. I've truly got my driver's license."

She accelerated into the middle of the street, still in reverse. Lily subconsciously gripped onto her seatbelt for dear life.

Lily looked at her critically, "Are you sure?"

Mary didn't reply to Lily's. Instead, she continued to drive down the street, "Well see, you know that we're meeting Alice, Marlene and Dorcas at the Leaky Cauldron already, right?"

Lily spoke slowly, "Right…"

"Er, yeah, well Alice may or may not have mentioned something about it to Frank, who may or may not have mentioned it to Remus Lupin, who-."

Lily cut off Mary, "Are the Marauders coming with us?"

Mary winced, "Well not officially, but they might pop up."

Lily was silent for a moment, "He sent me a letter. Potter, I mean."

Mary looked at Lily in shock, despite the fact she was driving, "Really?"

"Mhm, he actually apologized about the incident at the lake after OWL's. I was just as surprised as you," Lily explained.

"And did he ask you out?" Mary asked pointedly.

Lily paused for a moment, "No… He was actually nice about the whole thing."

Mary began to smile, "Does Lily-kins finally like Jamesie?"

Lily's cheeks turned light pink, "No, I don't. I doubt that I'll even be able stand his presence for more than a few moments at most."

Mary laughed, "I'll hold your word to that, Lil." She paused for a moment and added, "Actually, I bet you're going to snog him by the end of sixth year."

Lily scoffed and raised her eyebrows, "We'll see about that, won't we?"

.:.

Lily and Mary walked into the Leaky Cauldron, blinking several times to adjust to the dimly lit room. When their eyes adjusted, they saw Marlene, Dorcas and Alice sitting at a round table, waving at them excitedly.

Marlene was sitting the closest to them. She wore her light ash blonde hair down and in elegant curls. She was also wearing her usual tight, polite smile on her face, like always. Her heart-shaped face was perfect, no freckles, no little pimples, not even a slight dimple. It was possible to tell that she was wearing the slightest amount of make-up. Her sea green eyes were outlined in the smallest amount of gray. Her already dark eyelashes had a modest amount of mascara. Many at Hogwarts feared her icy exterior, and few knew her true warm heart.

Next to Marlene was Dorcas, slouching slightly in her seat. Her dark brown hair was curling into crazy spirals all around her oval face. She wore no make-up, and it was agreed that she needed none. Her almond, light brown eyes needed no mascara or eyeliner. Her slightly freckled complexion and rosy pink cheeks needed no foundation, no blush, and not even cover-up. She swirled around a straw wrapper idly, obviously impatient and bored. Her slight athletic build gave away to most that she played Quidditch, and she was quite good at it, she'd say.

And finally, next to Dorcas was Alice, sipping idly at her drink, her round face screwed up at its carbonation. Her light brown hair fell just short of her shoulders, waving the slightest bit. Her eyes were dark brown, seeming black to anyone standing far enough away from her. She wore black eyeliner, making her eyes seem darker. She didn't have any freckles, but she did have one left dimple. Her thin lips began to smile when she caught sight of Mary and Lily.

Mary was slightly taller than Lily and like Dorcas, was athletic built but less. She was on the Quidditch team, along with Dorcas, but Mary was more feminine than she. Her long, golden hair was straight and fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Like Lily, she had an excessive amount of freckles dotted around her face, shoulders and chest. Her large, blue-gray eyes were animated with emotions. Very much unlike Marlene, she tended to wear her heart on her sleeve.

Those were her dorm mates that Lily has come to love over the past five years. Now that she and Snape were finally done, she could appreciate them a lot more.

They all exchanged friendly greeting and hugs and quickly set foot in Diagon Alley.

"I am absolutely dying for some Florean Fortescue ice cream. Can we stop there on the way out?" Mary said, longingly looking at the ice cream parlor as they passed it.

"Sure," Marlene answered, "Right after we get Lily's owl too. We don't want to be dragging a poor creature with us along all day."

"Right, so we can go to Quality Quidditch Supplies first then," Dorcas said, rubbing her hands together and heading towards the store.

Mary and Dorcas began to walk to the store excitedly.

"Wait one moment," Alice spoke. "We're going to be passing Scrivenshaft's on the way there, so let's stop there first. I need a new quill; Lily needs parchment, and Marlene wants new ink."

Dorcas huffed but still agreed. The five of them headed towards Scrivenshaft's. As they arrived to the story, Lily and Alice inhaled deeply, enjoyed the scent of new parchment and ink.

"Oh move it, you two," Mary said, rolling her eyes.

"They look like fools on Amortentia," Dorcas observed as she pushed them through the entrance.

.:.

Hours later, the five girls retired to Florean Fortescue. They had successfully shopped at Scrivenshaft's, Quality Quidditch Supplies and Madam Malkins's. The day had gone quite well so far.

Lily loved the whole day. It was nice to hang out with girls instead of Snape or Tom. With a sudden awareness, she remembered that they had no idea about Tom. She figured now would be a better time than ever.

"So," Lily started, "I met this guy a couple days ago. He's a muggle, and he lives in my neighborhood."

The four girls looked at her, surprised. Mary spoke up, "So you fancy him?"  
Lily blushed and started, "Well-."

Dorcas interrupted her, "Well of course she fancies him. Why else would she bring him up, and look she's blushing!" Dorcas grinned at Lily fondly.

Marlene spoke, "Hush Mary and Dorcas. Let Lily tell her story!" She looked at them sternly, like a mother hen, and the two fell silent.

Lily cleared her throat, "Well see, we met a couple days ago at the library. He was hopeless, looking for books. But we talked a little bit, and he ended up being kind of sweet, and then he asked for my phone number." Lily saw the confused face of Dorcas, Alice and Marlene.

"It's this muggle thing. It's kind of like the muggle version of sending letters and floo-ing. But anyways, he called me the next day, and we went to the cinema. It was pretty fun. He's a really sweet bloke," Lily paused for a moment to catch her breath.

"So did you kiss him?" Marlene asked, surprising everyone.

Dorcas muttered, "Now who's interrupting Lily…"

Marlene shot Dorcas a look, which quieted her quickly.

The tops of Lily's ears turned pink, "Uh…"

"Hey, Evans!" a voice came from behind her.

"Oh no…" Lily turned around to see all four Marauders trotting over to the ice cream parlor.

"You're finishing the story when they leave!" Alice said quickly, before the Marauders arrived.

"Lily-dear, it's been too long!" Sirius said attempting to hug her.

Lily kept Sirius at an arm's length by locking her elbows out, "Black, do not call me that."

Sirius rolled his eyes sarcastically, "But dear, we're past calling each other by the first names, remember?"

Lily gritted her teeth and glared at Sirius. He recoiled only slightly, but he stopped trying to embrace Lily.

The four boys grabbed chairs and joined the girls. As James was sitting down, he spoke to Lily, "Evans, is your father an alien?"

Lily looked at him, raising her eyebrows, "No, Potter, he isn't."

"Because you're out of this world," he grinned cheekily.

Lily looked venomously at James. Remus shook his head, and Sirius barked a laugh and requested a discreet high five.

Lily looked at her friends, looking for an excuse to leave. "I still have to get an owl. Can we go to Eeylop's Owl Emporium?"

James jumped up, despite just sitting down. "We can go!"

She silently pleaded at her friends, who were all listening to Sirius tell a joke. Dorcas looked up, "Oh go with him, Lily. He's annoying, but he's not poisonous."

Lily looked at her skeptically, and James started again, "Yeah Evans, I don't bite or anything."

Lily strongly suspected that her friends supported the same beliefs that the rest of Hogwarts held. That James Potter and Lily Evans would be the cutest couple only if they got along.

Lily huffed, "Fine Potter. But no funny business, okay?"

James held out his right hand, "Marauder's promise."

She began to walk away, and James followed her like a puppy.

"Hey, if I could re-arrange the alphabet, I'd put-," James started, but Lily cut him off with a glare. He turned the rest of the sentence into a coughing fit.

"Why are you like this, Potter?" Lily asked sternly.

He looked confused, "Like what?"

Lily threw her arms up, "You're a perfectly nice gentleman in letters and on occasion, but you're a bloody prick ninety percent of the time!"

"Do you really think I'm a prick all the time?" he asked, a little put out.

Lily raised her eyebrows, "You hex people for your own entertainment. You pick on people who have done nothing to you. You flirt and argue with me just to make me mad, but then it seems like you actually care, with the way you write. Then when I actually see you, actually see you, you use annoying pick-up lines! It's infuriating!"

James looked extremely confused now, "That's why you don't like me? Because I hex people?"  
Lily exhaled angrily, "Can we just get an owl?"

James ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah sure."

Lily muttered, "I hate when you do that too."

"What?" he said, running through his hair again.

"That!" she said, mimicking him by running her own fingers through her hair.

"Do you just hate everything about me?" he asked dramatically.

"Can you get over yourself?" Lily snapped.

"I dunno. Can you get over loathing me?" he snapped back.

She glared at him with such anger that he literally recoiled backwards. Though slightly clenched teeth, she hissed, "We aren't going to get anywhere if we keep bickering like this, Potter. I'm sick of this. I want to be friends with the Gryffindor lot, including you."

"Now that Snape's out of the picture, you want to friends with us, you mean," James said bitterly.

Lily threw her hands in the air again, "I give up! You're impossible to work with!" She stomped away from him and into Eeylop's.

Her anger ebbed quickly as she surveyed the various sets of eyes that followed her as she walked in the shop.

"Can I help you, dear?" the old store-keeper asked.

"Um," Lily said, looking around at the owls. "I need an owl."

The store-keeper laughed, "Well we've got a few of those." She gestured around the store. "Do you have a specific color or breed in mind?"

"Not really. They're all gorgeous," Lily said, examining the cage. She paused for a moment, "How about a white owl?"

"We've got a couple of white ones. My favorite is this guy, right here," the store-keeper signaled to the cage to her left.

Lily agreed with the store-keeper; the owl was gorgeous. He was pure white with grey specks along his wings. His eyes were shockingly amber. Even though Lily had little experience with owls, she recognized the breed as an Eastern Screech Owl. It was love at first sight.

She walked over to the cage, "I'll take him."

After paying for her new friend, Lily walked back to the ice cream parlor, carrying the owl in a cage. Her anger completely dissolved now that she had her owl.

Well, maybe not completely. When James Potter came into her view, she scowled. He was waiting for her outside of the shop.

"I'm sorry, Evans. I didn't mean to say what I did," he shoved his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the bird and said awkwardly, "That's a really cool-looking owl."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Well what's said is said. I did mean what I said, about being friends with you Gryffindor lot, and thanks, I guess."

"Then let's be friends," James said holding his hand out. "Shake on it?"

She looked at his hand apprehensively but took it nonetheless, "Friends."

He broke out in a grin, "Now that we're friends, I think you should name your owl Harvey."

"Harvey? That's a horrid name," Lily said, making a face.

"Nope, it's too late. His name is Harvey. Nothing you can do," he said happily. "Look it, he even likes his name. Don't you, Harvey?"

The owl made a strange chirping noise that was obviously affirmative.

"Bloody hell, one minute being friends, and you've already given my owl a horrid name."

**A/N: Do any of you have a friend whose driving scares the living poop out of you? Cough, cough, my best friend, cough. Sorry that this is slightly slower than the last, but last Sunday was a meet, and Tuesday was my birthday. Then the day after my birthday, I got sick. Stupid allergies. Who got Deathly Hallows on DVD yet? I sure did.**

**Oh, and about the owl, all of you said a white owl, and dementorskiss xoxo suggested an Eastern Screech Owl. While googling it (awesome looking owl, by the by), I found a picture of a white one. It fit too perfectly.**

**Anyways, I really need to update the other story, so the next chapter might take a little bit longer to get out. I'm also considering getting a beta. What do you guys think?**

**Thanks to:**

**Loslote, dementorskiss xoxo, MXLover5, pinkdude64, nicki, Tenacious Chica and uhhhwellll.**

**You guys are awesome.**


	7. 7 Troubles in Paradise

"_I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going have trouble with me." ~Dr. Seuss_

**Just saying, I love Dr. Seuss, not matter how old I get.**

Troubles in Paradise

Lily and her dorm mates were sitting in the McKinnon's immaculate kitchen when an owl Lily recognized as James Potter's owl flew in.

Lily quickly untied the letter and un-rolled it curiously. They haven't been exchanging letters recently. Actually, they haven't spoken since they'd seen each other in Diagon Alley.

_Dear Evans,_

_ How's your summer been going? I haven't talked to you in a couple weeks, but I hope you're doing all right. Anyways, I wanted to invite you, along with Alice, Dorcas, Marlene and Mary to a Quidditch match. It's Puddlemere United against the Chudley Cannons. It's on July seventeenth._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Potter_

"He is so in love with you," Mary said, reading the letter over Lily's shoulder.

Lily rolled her eyes, "He invited all of us, Mary."

Mary snorted, "Only so you would come!"

Lily shook her head, "I'm dating Tom anyways, so it doesn't matter."

"Lily, have you told James about Tom?" Marlene asked pointedly.

Mary and Alice giggled as Lily threw her hands in the air, "He doesn't like me!"

"Are we going?" Dorcas asked with her mouth full of food. They all looked at her in silence. "What? I want to go to a Quidditch game. Puddlemere's the best!"

They in turn looked at Lily for approval or disapproval. She sighed, "Why not? I'll probably have to cancel something with Tom, but he'll live."

"Have you really James about Tom?" Alice asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No," Lily said, "I haven't felt the need to. Nobody knows except for you guys."

"How are things with lovely Tom?" Marlene asked, interested.

Lily shrugged and flushed, "Good, I guess."

"Have you snogged yet?" Dorcas asked. For a second time, everyone in the kitchen looked at Dorcas.

"What?" she responded, "I'm curious!"

Lily laughed nervously, "We have."

"What about leaving for Hogwarts in September?" Alice asked.

"Well, I told him that I go to a boarding school, so he wouldn't really wonder. We haven't really talked about it, but I don't really think we'll last very much into the school year."

"That's good," Dorcas said, taking another bite of food. They looked at her for the third time this morning. Dorcas rolled her eyes and swallowed her food, "Will you stop looking at me like I've grown a second head?"

Marlene spoke, "Good? Good that they're a summer fling?"

Dorcas shrugged, "Yeah, Potter will be heartbroken, and it was hell going through practices with such a moody bloke."

Mary nodded in agreement and spoke to Lily, "You might not have known this, but everyone on Quidditch feels the burn after you and he have had some disagreement."

Lily rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, "So that must mean he's in deep, passionate love with me, and we'd make the cutest couple."

Marlene covered Lily's hands with hers, "Yes, yes, it does."

The five girls began to laugh like mad.

.:.

"Petunia?" Lily's voice came through from the kitchen, "would you like some tea?"

There was a pause, just like every other time Lily offered tea (she was up to number four this summer).

"No thank you," Petunia said frigidly.

Lily shrugged to herself, _at least she said thank you._

She poured the boiling water into the cup and inhaled the aroma. She began walking up the stairs, and glancing at her watch, hurried up the stairs. It was about 1:30 AM, and Tom would promptly be there in a half of an hour to pick up Lily.

She swiftly went into her bathroom and turned the shower water on. Taking the all time record for shower times (at least for Lily), she wrapped herself into her favorite green towel and stride into her room.

She quickly dressed into jean shorts and a tank top. She looked at herself in the mirror and noticed a spot on her nose. Frowning and leaning closer to her reflection, she realized that it was yet another freckle.

Dozens of freckles had recently appeared on her face over the past two weeks, which she spent with Tom nonstop. He thoroughly loved the outdoors: hiking, fishing, swimming and all that jazz. And thanks to him, she was getting freckles, tan skin and even calf muscles.

She looked at her clock again, which blinked 12:53. Seven minutes. She scurried back into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and applying her (minimal) make-up. 12:58.

She headed towards the stairs, but she glanced in her room quickly. Everything was in order, but she felt off. She looked at her bedside table and saw her wand. On a whim, she grabbed it and placed it in her back pocket.

_Rather be safe than sorry,_ she thought to herself.

A beep came from the drive-way, and Lily saw Tom sticking his head out the window, waving at her. She hurried into the car, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Ready?" he asked, smiling.

"Yup, where are we going today?"  
"Northumberland, but no worries, we're hiking on the easy trail today.

"Good," Lily smiled, but she felt her stomach churn with butterflies. She couldn't really explain as to why, but she felt off. As if someone was going to pop out from the backseat and scream "boo!" She silently laughed at herself. She was being silly.

Tom began to talk about this new park he'd been reading about, which helped Lily forget her nerves temporarily.

.:.

"James Potter and Sirius Black!" Mrs. Potter's voice yelled from downstairs, "Get yourselves down here this instant! You're going to make us late!"

"Coming!" the boys answered with identical grins. They galloped down the stairs, taking three at a time.

The three Potters and one Black quickly entered the sleek, black car; Mr. Potter slipping into the driver's seat with Mrs. Potter on his left, the passenger side. They swiftly left the Potter Manor, speeding towards the closest muggle airport.

Sirius whispered, "Ready to hit on some American muggles, mate?"

James snickered, and Mrs. Potter turned to face the duo, "This is a family vacation, boys. You better not plan on ruining it with your shenanigans."

"Yes, mother," the chorused, grinning at each other.

.:.

After an hour or so of hiking, Tom and Lily sat happily on rocks, eating their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that overlooked the Barmoor Castle.

"Do you think it would be weird?" Tom asked suddenly.

"What?" Lily asked, confused.

"To live in a castle," Tom said, gesturing towards the castle ahead of them.

Lily laughed and thought to herself, _if only he really knew. _Instead, she shrugged, "I think it'd be nice, don't you?"

In the corner of her eye, she saw someone darkly cloaked suddenly appear behind them. Tom had noticed too, and he gestured to the figure, "You think he'd dress in something lighter."

Tom laughed and looked towards Lily, who was looking at the figure in fear.

.:.

"This, Prongs," Sirius gestured to the pool area, "is life."

They had arrived in Florida earlier that day, and James and Sirius had been enjoying the weather and pool like no other.

The pool was magnificent, complete with various different waterslides and pool depths. The deck was almost always covered in sunshine and was filled with lounge chairs, which Sirius and James took themselves to reside in for about three hours now.

Not to mention, the all of the muggle girls had been walking around in skimpy bathing suits. Sirius nodded at one of the girls, and the girl walked away, giggling.

"Man, I love life," Sirius said contently.

James simply looked at his friend in response and laid back down.

With a sudden realization, James gasped, alarming Sirius.

"What? What's going on, Prongs?"  
"I forgot to respond to Evan's letter this morning about the Quidditch match!" James said. "Do you think mum brought any parchment, ink or an owl?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and sat up, "Godric forbid you don't in contact with Lily Evans for one day, Prongs." He ignored James's attempts to argue. "I'm thirsty," Sirius said, eyeing another girl walk to the bar. "Want anything?"

"No thanks," James said, closing his eyes, attempting to go back to sleep and enjoy the sun for a little while longer.

Seconds later, he heard his mother's voice call out for him. Cracking open an eye lid, he saw his mother's expression was grim. He got up immediately, and his mother spoke quietly and quickly.

"Your father had to leave on emergency. There was another kidnapping of a muggle, and a possibility of a young witch. There are no names yet, but you and Sirius should come back up to the room as soon as possible."

James nodded, and his mother left him quickly. James scanned for Sirius, and he saw him walking towards the muggle girl he had his eye on. He quickly walked towards him.

"Hey," Sirius Black approached a muggle girl. "Do you believe in magic?"

"Padfoot," James ordered, "It's not the time for magic tricks." James began to quite literally drag Sirius away from the girl, who seemed to look slightly put out.

When they were far enough away, Sirius turned to James, "What the bloody hell? I was going to show her muggle card tricks!"

James cut him off with a look, "Another muggle has been kidnapped, possibly along with a witch, Padfoot."

Sirius was quiet for a moment. "You don't think…" he trailed off.

"We're supposed to go back to the room and wait for instructions. My father already left, and yes, I think that it very well could be Evans."

.:.

Lily could have sworn that the man had just appeared, but she didn't see a wand yet. Either the ministry was going to get her for using spells on an innocent muggle (and the presence of another), or the man was going to hex her. She chose the first and took out her wand quickly.

The man, seeing that Lily had brought out her wand, had brought out his too and cast a spell towards them.

A red jet came straight at Tom. Lily quickly cast a shield charm, and Tom looked bewildered.

"What the bloody hell, Lily? What is this?" he said, eyeing her wand.

"No time to explain," she said, casting a stunning spell towards the quickly approaching figure, "Just get behind me!"

"Lily! There's two more heading over here! What's going on?" Tom asked his voice full of panic.

"Shit," Lily said, glancing behind her and confirming there were two more dark wizards were approaching from the other side. "Run, Tom. Go hide!"

Tom took no time to follow Lily's orders. She quickly cast two more stunning spells at the wizards at her back, both of which were deflected.

She turned around to find the first wizard was a couple of feet away from her, and she slightly recognized the face. She began to tremble, and the wizard cast his own stunning spell at her.  
She avoided it barely and heard first wizard shout to the others, "Go get the boy. I'll take care of the mudblood."

"Leave him alone! It's me that you want!" Lily shouted needlessly.

"Ah, but muggles are just as bad as you, lovely," the man said, sending shivers up her spine.

She cast a disarming spell, but he deflected it easily.

"Why do you want to fight, lovely? Just be a nice, little mudblood and come with me," he attempted to coax her.  
"Like hell I'm coming anywhere with you!" Lily shouted, sending dozens of more spells his way.

Deflecting all of them, the man smiled cruelly, "Oh, you'll wish you haven't done that."

The wizard began to fire a number of spells at Lily, and an eerily looking red one had missed her by millimeters.

"Lily Evans, you are of power, and you are a mudblood. Therefore, you must be terminated, along with your family."

His voice caused her to shiver, and his words made her blood run cold.

Seeing his own effect, he continued to speak, "Or you can join our side, the side of power."

When she didn't answer, he cast a red jet towards her, and Lily couldn't move out of the way in time.

Every cell in her body screamed in agony. Lily felt herself fall to the ground and twitch uncontrollably. Every part of her body felt as if she was frostbitten and given three degree burns at the same time. She screamed out; her eyes watered, and her version went red.

When she could see again, she saw the wizard smiling eerily at her. "Quite a screamer, you are. There is far worse pain coming towards your way, Miss Evans, if you don't see things the way we do."

She exhaled shakily and made no effort to move herself. She just wanted to close her eyes and give up.

"No? You don't agree?" the wizard asked, pointing his wand at her once more.

"No, stop…" she said feebly.

"You deserve the pain I am about to give, mudblood. _Crucio_!"

Lily began to scream again, writhing on the ground for several moments before she came back to consciousness. She felt herself barely there, barely keeping herself from fainting, she spoke again, "Stop…please…."

"Will you pledge to our cause?" the wizard asked, twirling his wand between his fingers casually.

Before Lily could answer, she heard several apparation pops. Both Lily and the wizard glanced around to see several Aurors, popping up, meters away from each other. Lily looked at the wizard in the eye.

"Another time, Ms. Evans, another time," he spoke eerily, and he disapparated on the spot.

That's when Lily fainted.

**A/N: Sorry, I had the ACT and PSAE. I feel myself getting sick also, so I'm apologizing beforehand. Who do you think the wizard was? And what's going to happen to Tom?**

**Oh, and does anyone play Tap Tap Revenge 3 on here? You should leave your username in a review, and I'll challenge you! Mine's marauderx94, so you can challenge me too!**

**Thanks to the following people (you truly make my week):**

**Loslote, AnnaxStoney, buddygirl1004, dementorskiss xoxo, Sapphy, pinkdude64, Converse101 and DarlingILoveYou.**


	8. 8 Hopes and Fears

_And I took you by the hand__And we stood tall, __And remembered our own land, __What we lived for._

_And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.__And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.__Get over your hill and see what you find there, __With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.__~Mumford and Sons, "After the Storm"_

**They're awesome.**

Hopes and Fears

James Potter felt sick to his stomach. His father had just apparated straight into the hotel room they'd just checked into hours prior. Lily Evans was being carried, firemen's style, by Mr. Potter. The only way James recognized Lily was by her red hair. She was unconsciously dangling over Mr. Potter's shoulder.

Mr. Potter carefully laid her down, and James saw there were various cuts and scrapes over her body and a massive bruise forming on her right temple.

Mrs. Potter was the first one to speak, "What happened? Who is this?" "This is the witch that was being attacked. Her name is Lily Evans, muggle-born, soon-to-be sixth year at Hogwarts. The Cruciatus Curse was used, and there are Aurors hot on the Death Eater's trail. The muggle boy was missing. Owl me as soon as she wakes up; she needs to be questioned immediately," Mr. Potter spoke quickly, and before any other questions were asked, he disapparated.

Mrs. Potter set immediately to work, waving her wand and cleaning up the blood.

"The Cruciatus Curse?" James said quietly to himself.

"James dear, do you know this girl?"

"Ye-yes, she's in our year and house," James said, shell-shocked.

"She's only the girl he's fancied for nearly six years," Sirius muttered, loud enough that everyone in the room heard.

In turn, James smacked him upside the head, "Shut it, you."

Mrs. Potter turned around, interested, "This is the girl you've been talking about for six years? She must be lovely."

"She is," James muttered a little more calm now that her cuts had been magically healed and blood magically gone.

"She's got a concussion, and a nasty one it seems from the bruise on her head. We'll need to take turns, waiting for her to wake up, and you both heard your father; we need to notify him as soon as she wakes," Mrs. Potter said, finishing her charms on a still unconscious Lily. Mrs. Potter sighed, "I would use _enervate, _but it seems cruel. She'd wake with the nastiest headache. The body knows how to heal itself better than I can right now." Mrs. Potter sighed and turned to her son, "So, she's a lovely girl?"

James blushed and scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah Mum, she's really lovely."

.:.

Lily's eyes fluttered open to see a white ceiling, decorated with massive crown molding. She tried to sit up but failed. Her head throbbed painfully.

The pain immediately brought back her memories of what happened with Tom. She began to panic. She sat straight up in the strange bed, despite her pain. She didn't recognize the room. It didn't look like the Ministry of Magic or a hospital room. It actually looked like a hotel room, with two queen-sized beds and a door that seemed to lead to a bathroom. Inside of said bathroom, she heard the tap shut off. Lily held her breath in anticipation. For all she knew, she was under Death Eater's control. Lily looked for her wand on the nightstand next to her out of instinct. She was wandless, _for Godric's sake._

The door opened to reveal a confusing yet familiar figure.

"Merlin, Evans! You scared the bloody shit out of me!" Sirius Black said, clutching his heart.

If Lily had been in her right state of mind, she might've smiled or even laughed. Sirius's shock may have amused her, but his presence also thoroughly confused her.

"Where am I?" Lily said. "I remember the men, and then the aurors came. What happened? What happened to Tom? Where's my wand?"

"You're in America, buddy," Sirius said, trying out his best American accent.

This only confused her more. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Sirius interrupted her.

"See, Evans, Prongs and I were on vacation when this," he paused, "incident happened. You happen to be in sunny Florida."

"But why was I brought here and not somewhere like St. Mungo's?"

"You must not be getting the Daily Prophet," Sirius said, well...seriously, "St. Mungo's was attacked last week. It was the wing that had been healing injured aurors. No one was injured, but it was terror all right. No worries though, Mrs. Potter is a retired Healer, and she's been talking care of you."

Lily took a moment to respond, "That's nice of her. Is she taking care of Tom too? How long have I been out?"

"You've only been out for about twelve or so hours, I think," Sirius said sitting on the end of her bed.

"Okay, but what about Tom?" Lily persisted.

Sirius stood up quite quickly, "I better go tell the others you're awake."

"Black, what happened?" Lily exclaimed.

Sirius paused, visibly debating whether he wanted to tell Lily or not. Deciding on the latter, he spoke, "I'll be right back, I swear."

Lily's mind and heart began to race wildly. _What happened to Tom? Is he dead? Severely injured? …A mental vegetable?_It would be all her fault. If they hadn't been together, he would never have been targeted or attacked.

Moments later, a woman opened the door and rushed over to Lily's bedside. "How are you feeling, dear? I'm glad this wasn't another pranks of Sirius's," she smiled kindly.

Mrs. Potter was an elderly witch, whose resemblance to James was minimal. She was one of those lucky people who aged with grace. Her wrinkles appeared faintly around her mouth and eyes (Lily could guess from laughing), and her skin retained the tan she must've had over fifty years. Her mostly grey hair still had streaks of brown was only about shoulder length. Her eyes were a warm brown.

Behind Mrs. Potter was her son, who was peeking around her shoulder. "Good to see you conscious again, Evans," he said, smirking slightly.

Lily would have shot him a look of disgust or annoyance, but she was much too worried. She returned her attention back to Mrs. Potter, who was checking her heartbeat.

"What happened to Tom, Mrs. Potter? The muggle I was with?" Lily insisted.

Mrs. Potter frowned, "You poor girl. You've been through so much. He hasn't been found yet. There are aurors working around the clock to find him and about five other missing muggles." Mrs. Potter grasped Lily's hand, "I'm quite sorry, dear."

Lily visibly shrunk. For all she knew, Tom could be rotting, dead in the basement of some Death Eater's house. The only reason she didn't burst into tears was the slightest bit of hope that maybe he was being kept prisoner, that maybe he wasn't dead.

Mrs. Potter scurried around Lily, checking various vital signs, "Other than a couple of bruises and a slight concussion, you're looking great. Some rest and good food will help you drastically. In a couple of days, you'll be in tip-top condition."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Lily said, trying to keep her voice level.

Mrs. Potter smiled sympathetically towards Lily, "Such a sweet girl. I'll leave you now to rest. Mr. Potter will want to talk to you when he gets back though." She paused and grasped Lily's hand, "It'll be all right dear."

Mrs. Potter's words were so genuine and motherly that she wanted to believe her like she believed her mother when she'd fallen on the sidewalk and scraped her knee. Lily watched her walk out of the room, but before she left, she whispered softly to James, "You were right."

James smiled towards his mother in return and sat in the chair next to Lily's bed, "How's your head, Evans?"

She shrugged, "I'll be fine." She rolled to her side, not facing James. She would not cry in front of James Potter. She refused. Lily stubbornly wiped the tears that were forming.

"Er, well how are you feeling then?" James said awkwardly.

She sighed shakily and repeated, "I'll be fine."

"Are y- are you crying?" James stammered.

"No," Lily said, but it was an obvious lie.

"Look, the muggle boy will be fine! My dad is even working on finding him. He'll be found, and he'll be fine!" he rushed. "Please don't cry! He'll be fine, just fine! I hate when people cry, especially girls. He'll be fine!"

Lily kept her voice level, "You can leave. You don't have to stay here." "Leave?" James said as if he's never heard that word before, "No, I just want you to be happy. Please don't cry. I'll tell you corny jokes, especially knock-knock ones! Just please don't cry!" Despite feeling like she had the worst luck in the world, Lily smiled. Over the years she'd known James Potter, she'd seen him joyful, angry, bitter, jealous and even a little bit sad, but she had never seem him nervous or even possibly scared. It was amusing to her. She faced James again and wiped her tears off. She whispered, "Thanks, Potter."

"Please, call me James," he said, sticking his hand out.

Lily laughed softly, and shaking his hand, she responded, "Then I suppose you should call me Lily."

.:.

There had only whispers of a man named Voldemort when Charles Potter retired from his job as an Auror. Mr. Potter paced quickly around his office at the ministry. He supposedly retired nearly a decade before, but with the new threats of this so-called Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he'd been brought out of retirement.

He shook his head, defeated. The Death Eaters who had captured the muggle were no rookies. They left no trail, at least signaling they were of age. That was the only clue he had, and it was practically nothing. He sat in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

He was getting much too old for this type of thing. He needed to retire (for real this time) and soon.

His owl flew into his office, dropping a letter right in front of him. It simply read:

_Charles,_

_Lily Evans is conscious and talking. Not too many serious injuries, only a slight concussion from what I can tell._

_Please come quickly,_

_Dorothea_

He dropped the letter quickly and apparated on the spot, right outside the hotel room. He silently opened the door and entered into the room. He overhead James talking to a girl who he assumed could only be Lily Evans.

"Hey, what did the ghost say to the bee?" James spoke.

"What?"

"Boo, bee! Get it?" Mr. Potter could sense his son was smiling, as Mr. Potter was smiling too. He remembered the day when he told James that joke. James was about five years old when he had a scraped knee. As soon as Mr. Potter saw the tears start to form in his young son's eyes, he rapidly told jokes, such as that one. Neither James nor Charles Potter was strong in the presence of tears.

Lily laughed softly, "If I had the energy, I'd punch you."

Mr. Potter walked in view of the two teenagers, and Lily gave Mr. Potter a shocked look. She glanced at James then back at Mr. Potter.

Mr. Potter chuckled, "Good evening, Ms. Evans."

The resemblance between James and Mr. Potter were uncanny. Both of them wore similar frames of glasses; both had the same hair, raven black (even though Mr. Potter's hair was mostly grey) and sticking up in all different directions, and they even had matching smiles.

"It's lovely to finally meet you," he said, shaking Lily's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Lily responded politely.

"I apologize for being abrupt," Mr. Potter said, sitting on the edge of Lily's bed, "but what do you remember?"

Lily sat up straighter. "Well Mr. Potter, me and my," she paused, "friend were hiking, and we took a break to eat lunch, when I saw a black robed figure approach us. I noticed he had his wand out, so I quickly took my own out too and casted a stunning spell. He was practically untouchable. None of my spells hit him. Then two more figures came from behind me, so I told Tom, the muggle I was with, to run, and two of the men went after him.

"I tried everything, but the man kept avoiding all of my spells. He fired so many spells, and eventually, one of his Cruciatus Curses hit me. He said that I needed to be terminated, along with my family. Then he cursed me again, demanding that I pledge with them. Then I remember the aurors came, and I fainted at that point."

"You're quite a strong girl, Ms. Evans. Your family has been evacuated out of your family home and into an emergency shelter for the time being. But, do you remember any of the faces of the men?"

"The two that went after Tom were too far to see their faces, but the one who attacked me, yes. I believe he was one of the Slytherin prefects when I was a first year, Lucius Malfoy."

Mr. Potter stood up hurriedly, "I knew it. I had a feeling this whole time. Thank you greatly Ms. Evans, but I must be returning back to the office immediately. We'll need to acquire license to invade the Malfoy's Manor first. Then we need approval to…" he trailed off into incoherent phrases. Mr. Potter wandered out of the room.

"I see the resemblance," Lily said as soon as Mr. Potter closed the door behind him.

James sighed, "Yup, all of us Potter men look identical—glasses and black untidy hair."

An awkward silence settled between the two. James's hand went to mess up his hair but stopped mid-way, "So, how do you know this Tom bloke?"

Lily paused, unsure to tell the truth, "He's my neighbor. He's just a friend."

Lily silently cursed herself. She really hated lying.

James visibly relaxed, and Lily wondered for a moment why. Sure, Po—James wasn't such a prat, but in no world (or dimension) would she even consider dating him. Friendship (or whatever this was) happened to be was a miracle. They had too much of a complicated past.

"Well, I'm sure your friend will be fine," James said.

Lily didn't believe him, but she felt herself nod, "We'll see. Do you mind if I catch some sleep? I've had a really rough day."

James smiled, "Yes, you have." He paused for a moment and pulled something out of his back pocket, "If you need anything, say my or Sirius's name into this mirror, and we'll magically appear there, all right? We're just a couple doors down from you."

Lily looked at the mirror curiously, "Where did you get these? They're incredibly rare."

James waved his hand as to wave away the question, "They came from some distant deceased relative. Lights off?"

"Please," Lily said. The lights were shut off, and James opened the door to leave. Lily spoke quietly, (but just loud enough that James could hear) "Tell your parents thank you for everything they've done for me, and thanks a lot, James." She paused; his first name felt weird on her tongue, "It means a lot."

"Sleep tight, Lily. Don't let the bed bugs bite," he replied. James was glad Lily couldn't see him, because he probably looked like a fool with a smile so large. He closed the door behind him as quietly as possible.

**A/N: I'm sorry! I was having sleep problems, and I took the SAT last weekend. Then y'know, I finally beat Fable II. Not to even mention that prom is coming up, and I totally don't even want to go. Also, I got this beta-ed by the lovely pinkdude64! Quite an awesome girl, I might add. School will be over in about four weeks, so hopefully I'll have more time but frankly, probably not.**

**Thanks to:**

**Loslote, Sapphy, uhhhwellll, dementorskiss xoxo, Novelnerd97, belizf and AnnaxStoney**

**All of you are so kind to me and put me under a lot of pressure to get this one out. I needed it though. Cookies for you!**


	9. 9 Fireworks and Fidelity

"_Suppose I never ever saw you. Suppose we never ever called. Suppose I kept on sing love songs. Just to break my own fall."_

_Regina Spektor, Fidelity_

Fireworks and Fidelity

Lily awoke the next morning with voices coming from outside of her door. She recognized Mrs. Potter's voice and another's (whose she didn't recognize) converging. Mrs. Potter's voice was barely travelling through the door, but the other's voice on the other hand…

Lily could swear she heard the word "constant" coming from the stranger about five times in under a minute. Deciding that it would be best to just stay in bed, Lily did just that. She flipped her pillow to the cold side and laid her head gently (as she still had quite a headache).

Lily enjoyed about a moment peace before the door slammed open.

"Mr. Moody! I said be quiet! She still has a concussion and is probably sleeping!" Mrs. Potter scolded.

The stranger, Mr. Moody, grumbled, "Get up, girl."

Lily, quite frightened by his appearance, got out of her bed quickly.

"Your name," the strange man stated.

"Lily Evans."

"Your age."

"Sixteen," Lily stated, looking at Mrs. Potter to explain why this man was here.

"Good. Take a seat," Mr. Moody said, roughly gesturing to the table in chairs in the corner of her room.

"Lily, this is Auror Moody. He wants to question you about the incident. I very well tried to get him to come back in a couple hours, but he's-," Mrs. Potter started.

"Constant vigilance, Mrs. Potter!" Mr. Moody ranted. "For secrecy reasons, you must also leave the room."

"Mr. Moody, if you think for one moment-," Mrs. Potter reprimanded the man again, but he interrupted her.

"Constant vigilance!" the strange man bellowed.

Mrs. Potter huffed, reminding Lily of her own stubbornness, "You have ten minutes, Mr. Moody! She needs to eat breakfast!"

With that, Mrs. Potter comfortingly touched Lily's shoulder and left the room.

Mr. Moody grunted, "Where's your wand girl?"

Lily gestured towards her bedside table, "In the drawer over there."

"Well, get it then."

Lily stood up, not sure whether she liked this man very much, and fetched her wand for him. She carefully handed it to him.

"Willow, yes?" Mr. Moody said, examining the wand. "Good for Charms."  
Lily didn't know what else to respond, so she kept her silence.

"You saw a Death Eater's face and identified it as Lucius Malfoy, correct?"

Lily nodded, still slightly frightened of him.

"Do you remember what curses he used on you?"

"The Cruciatus Curse," Lily responded, "it was the only he used before the Aurors came. He managed to hit me twice."

"You're going into your sixth year next year, then?"  
"Yes."

Mr. Moody grunted, "Quite impressive you're in such a good state. If a Death Eater used the Cruciatus on a normal teenager, they would have gone insane. Though, if any teenager saw those Death Eaters, they would've fainted on the spot. What careers are you considering after Hogwarts, Ms. Evans?"

Lily fidgeted with her fingers, "I'm not entirely sure, Mr. Moody, Healing or maybe something in International Affairs."

He grunted again, "You'd make a good Auror, Ms. Evans. Keep that in mind."

Lily responded uneasily, "Thank you, sir."

"What was the name of the muggle with you?" Moody asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"Thomas Blacksmith."

"How did he get separated from you?"  
Lily paused, "I saw I was being surrounded by Death Eaters, so I told him to run, thinking they would leave him for me."

The strange man chuckled, "Did he run then?"

"Yes, towards the castle."

This made him chuckle again, "Not much bravery in him, isn't that right?"

Lily shrugged, "I guess not."

Lily thought Tom's so-called cowardice was justified. For Godric's sake, he had no clue about the existence of witches, wizards or even magic. Seeing the Death Eaters terrified Lily; she couldn't imagine the fear Tom had felt. She shuddered involuntarily.

"Do you remember anything else, Ms. Evans? Perhaps any of the names or faces?" he asked hopefully.

Lily shook her head, "Everything happened so quickly. Are there any leads on finding Tom?"

"In fact, yes. He's suspected to be in the Malfoy's cellar, along with a couple of other suspected witches and wizards taken as prisoners."

Lily slumped in her chair, "Are they going to be able to get them out?"  
"An assault on the Malfoy Manor is planned for a very soon date, Ms. Evans. Thanks to your tip, we were able to pull the last pieces of the puzzle together."

Suddenly, Mr. Moody's eye whizzed in its socket, exposing only the white of his eye. Lily gasped, frightened.

"Are you okay, sir?"

His eye returned back to its normal position, "I'm fine, Ms. Evans. This eye can see through walls and other things like invisibility cloaks. I'm quite glad I lost that eye, as this one's much more useful."

Lily must have been making a face of bewilderment and repulsion, as Moody's corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Young Mr. Potter is here, carrying quite a lot of food, and he'll be knocking any second. My ten minutes are up. It was a pleasure talking to you, Ms. Evans. I doubt this is the last time we meet."

With that, Mr. Moody stood up and opened the door, startling none other than James Potter.

"Where is your wand, boy?"

"In my back pocket. Why?" James said with such a befuddled look that Lily had to smother a giggle.

"You'll curse off your own buttocks, boy!" Moody roared, but he didn't wait for a response. He marched down the hallway without another word.

James shook his hand and entered in Lily's room, carefully balancing the tray of breakfast food. "How do you like Moody?"

"I'm not too sure," Lily answered truthfully.

James laughed, "He's a strange fellow, definitely." He placed the tray in front of Lily, "Now eat, before my mum comes back and murders me."

Lily laughed and saluted, "Sir, yes, sir."

James laughed as Lily began to eat the toast, "Are you feeling better?"

She swallowed her food, "Loads better from yesterday. Just a slight headache is all."

He nodded, "That's good. Today's the fourth of July, and it's some crazy American muggle holiday."

"What for?"

James shrugged. "It's their Independence Day, I think. Anyways, they always set off a bunch of crazy fireworks. It's not anything compared to the fireworks at professional Quidditch games, but it's something to do. They have a bunch of different colored ones, red and blue mostly, but they have a bunch of shapes too." His arms flailed around crazily, attempting to describe the various fireworks. Lily must have been looking at him like he was crazy, because he dropped his arms. "I mean if you don't want to go-," he rambled on.

"I'll go, for Godric's sake!" Lily cut him off.

James ran his fingers through his hair and smiled nervously, "Good."

.:.

The only fireworks Lily Evans ever saw were the occasional ones from the Marauder pranks and the rare Quidditch game. The muggle ones- while they didn't have distinct shapes or move around magically- were pretty impressive, she had to admit.

Lily sat in-between Sirius and James, watching one that fizzled gold in form of a willow tree's branches.

"I like those one the best," Lily yelled over the thunderous booms of the fireworks.

"Me too," James said, shouting as well.

It was only the teenagers since Mrs. Potter wasn't a huge fan of loud noises and Mr. Potter was off somewhere doing official Auror business.

A group of giggling muggles walked past Sirius, pointing (quite ignorantly Lily would add) and giggling at Sirius and James.

"You game, mate?" Sirius said, eyeing the muggles.

James glanced at the girls, "Nah, Padfoot. You can keep them all for yourself."

Sirius looked like Christmas had come five months early, "Really?"

James laughed, "Yes, really, I'd rather stay here."

Lily looked at him confused, "You don't have to keep me company, nor are you my babysitter. I'm fine. It's not every day you get to flirt with American girls."  
James shrugged, "I'm happy here. Besides, I can't ever understand what they're saying half the time; they're so giggly."

Lily rolled her eyes; she didn't want to start an argument, and how could she? One, the fireworks were too appealing to have an argument, and two; the Potters (and Sirius) have been incredibly kind to her. Maybe, just maybe, Lily was finally seeing the side of James Potter that Remus, Alice, Mary and Marlene so constantly insisted existed.

Lily looked at the infamous boy she claimed to have hated not more than two months ago. He was watching the fireworks intently, and when a large or colorful one exploded, he turned to Lily, excitement evident on his face. "Did you see that one?" Lily nodded every time, even when she wasn't watching. His raven black hair stuck in all directions, maybe even in a charming way. Past his slightly crooked glasses frames, Lily noticed something she never had before: his eyes weren't brown like she thought. Instead, they were a light brown speckled with gold and green.

Maybe James Potter wasn't the prat she always made him out to be. Maybe, maybe not.

.:.

Sirius approached the muggle girls confidently. Unfortunately, the group entered into the girl's restroom. He huffed for a moment before he saw an attractive girl leave the restroom barely a second later.

Deciding on a whim to re-try his American accent, he approached the care, "Would ya care for a pop, darling?"

The girl looked at Sirius with utter confusion, "What kind of hell accent do you have?"

"Why, it's American accent, darling," Sirius said, losing a slight of his confidence.

"In what century?" she asked incredulously.

Sirius laughed, "Why that's not a polite thing to say, darling!"  
"I've got an urge to slap you across the face right now, lover boy."

Sirius put his hands up in surrender and spoke in his own dialect, "I give up!"

The girl scrutinized Sirius, "You're British, then? Bloody 'ell!"

Sirius raised his eyebrows at the girl, "Who's faking the accent now?"

The girl smiled, "I'd love a soda, thank you."

Sirius grinned, "I'd love to buy you one, darling."

The girl sighed dramatically, "Where do you get darling from? Gone With the Wind? Wizard of Oz? No one talks like that anymore, fool. Except maybe old ladies with Southern drawls…"

Sirius laughed, "What's your name?" He resisted adding "darling" to the end of the sentence.

She smiled at him and stuck her hand out to shake, "Mine name's Lisa, and yours?"

"Sirius," he said, and after releasing her hand, he guided her gently.

"Sirius? Like the star's name?"

He winked, "Just like the brightest star."

.:.

Mr. Potter sat at his desk in the Auror Department rubbing his temples, attempting to relieve the migraine that's persisted for the past couple of days. He promised to himself he would retire after this case closed and about five times now. It seemed every time he closed a case, another tempting one was created.

Auror Moody abruptly entered into his office, "We've got permission to invade the Malfoy Manor, Mr. Potter."

"Do you have a plan already, Moody?"

"Who do you think I am, Mr. Potter?"

Mr. Potter chuckled, "Of course you do, Alastor. Let's hear it…"

.:.

_Dearest Dorothea,_

_ We gained permission to raid Malfoy Manor. I'll be leaving in a couple hours. I love you, and I swear this _will _be the last mission._

_Yours,_

_Charles_

Dorothea Potter read the letter quickly and muttered to herself, "You say that every time, Charles-dear."

.:.

Sirius, Lily and James entered the hotel suite around midnight to see Mrs. Potter sitting in a chair, still reading the letter.

"What's that, Mum?" James asked, worry evident on his face.

Mrs. Potter waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing, dear. Your father is going on a mission. He says it's his last, but we all know it's not." She smiled at the letter fondly.

"Is it the mission to save the other prisoners along with Lily's neighbor?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, dear. He should be back by morning, so why don't we all get some shut eye?"

Lily felt herself nod, but she knew she wasn't getting any sleep tonight. The fireworks had temporarily caused Lily to forget about everything, but now she was brought back to reality.

With a heavy heart, she headed towards her room for a long night.

.:.

_Dearest Dorothea,_

_ You might be worrying to why I am not home yet. Do not fret. I'm safe, and if you've gotten the Daily Prophet, you know that our mission was successful. Twelve prisoners were saved from torture yesterday. Twelve. I'm writing to you not from my office, but the newly constructed wing in St. Mungo's. I helped the finishing of the security spells just five minutes ago, as I am a temporary patient for the time being._

_ I was hit by a damn Stunning Spell (by that damn Bellatrix Lestrange, nonetheless), and I hit the wall a little too hard. I broke my elbow and shattered my arm._

_ They're saying I'm too fragile and old, Dorothea. Can you believe it? I can't blame them, as I am the oldest Auror in the field. They're forcing me to retire also, so I guess yesterday was really the last mission._

_ You lot should probably come home soon. Tell Lily Evans that her friend is okay, and her family is home, and so is he. Don't tell her the following, though. She should remain innocent in this matter. Thomas Blacksmith was in nearly perfect physical shape, but in a horrible mental state. It was terrifying, the way he was so frightened. The poor lad… He had to be obliviated as soon as he was brought to St. Mungo's. He would not stop muttering and screaming. I'm not sure how much was removed from his memory. Quite a lot if he was able to be released…_

_ I hope to be home in a few hours from now, and I hope you will be there as well._

_Yours,_

_Charles_

.:.

Lily quickly packed up her things in her room. Mrs. Potter had bought various articles of clothing for her. "I always wanted a daughter to shop for!" she claimed when Lily tried to give them back.

She couldn't believe her luck. Tom was _alive_. He was _healthy_. Her family wasn't harmed either, and she would see them in a couple of hours. She left the hotel room, eager to be back home.

"Lily-dear, please come quickly. Your portkey is leaving soon!" Mrs. Potter said, gesturing her to hurry.

"Thank you so much for taking care of me, Mrs. Potter. It means a lot to me," Lily said. Mrs. Potter looked at Lily fondly.

"You're a sweetheart, Lily. It was a pleasure meeting you, and I'm sure we'll meet soon enough!" Mrs. Potter said with a smile on her face.

Lily turned to the boys, "James, Sirius, I'll be seeing you the seventeenth, right?"

"Right-o, darling," Sirius replied before James could.

James turned to Sirius, "Where the bloody hell do you get 'darling' from?"

Lily laughed but noticed the hotel pen turned a bright blue; she grabbed it and felt the usual hook into her bellybutton.

A couple of moments later, she crashed into her room, still holding onto to the pen.

Lily heard her mother, "Lily-dear? Is that you?"

Lily's heart fluttered uncontrollably, "Yeah, Mum!" She raced down the stairs and jumped into her mother's embrace.

"I've missed you so much, Mum," Lily mumbled into her mother's shirt.

Her mother stroked her hair soothingly, "We were so worried for you, Lily. There's someone waiting for you in the kitchen though."

Lily left her mother's embrace and entered the kitchen, expecting Tom. Who she did not expect was Moody.

"Told you I would see you again, Ms. Evans," Moody said, gesturing her to take a seat.

Lily frowned, "I'm not trying to seem impolite, Mr. Moody, but why are you here, sir?"

"I'm only here for a moment, Ms. Evans. I just need to explain these security measures I've placed around your home. You'll need to check these spells every six months while you're home…" He went on to explain several charms and spells he used. Lily carefully noted each one. "And that'll be it. I need to get back to the Ministry now. Don't forget what I said to you, Ms. Evans. The Auror program could use you tremendously."

Lily felt herself nod, and with a pop, Mr. Moody was gone.

Mr. Evans stuck his head into the kitchen, "He's a strange fellow, isn't he?"

Lily turned around excitedly, "Dad! How are you doing?" She rushed into her father's embrace.

Lily felt her father's chest rumble with laughter, "We're all fine, Lily-pot. Your Ministry took good care of us. Petunia's in her room, but I think you better leave her for tonight. I'm afraid you've ruined her social plans for last week." Mr. Evans smiled at his daughter. "We're just glad you're okay."

Lily smiled hesitantly at her father and left his hold, "Do you mind if I go for a quick walk?"

Mr. Evans raised his eyebrows sarcastically at his second daughter, "Only if you've got your wand!"

Lily smiled and patted her pocket, "I've got it right here."

She quickly exited her house and went down the street to a park where she and Tom went nearly every day. Once she arrived there, she saw a familiar figure sitting at a picnic table, reading what Lily assumed was the comics from the newspaper.

Lily sat down across from him, not sure of what to say.

Tom Blacksmith looked up at Lily, "Hullo. Can I help you?"

Lily looked at him mystified, "What do you mean 'can I help you?'"

Tom shrugged nonchalantly, "It's a polite question to ask a stranger who sits by you. Say, what's your name?"

She looked at him incredulously, "You don't know my name?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. Have we met before then?"

Lily suddenly understood and replied to Tom sadly, "No, I guess I've confused with someone else. Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you."

She felt herself walk away, but it felt more like floating to her. They wiped his memory clean. Clean of everything magical. Clean of everyone magical. Clean of Death Eaters, spells, magic. Clean of Lily.

She couldn't believe it. Sure, their relationship wasn't anything but a summer fling, but she couldn't believe that everything they did together was wiped clean from his memory. It didn't seem fair to Lily, but she could see it in the Ministry's eyes. They didn't want it to happen again. They didn't want Lily Evans getting close to Tom Blacksmith again or even with any muggle.

**So, seasonal allergies really stink. I've really got nothing else to say other than I love you guys! You're seriously (siriusly) awesome! Special thanks to pinkdude64 for beta-ing and helping me name this chapter and to for answering those weird accent questions! This story is in a community too? That's really awesome, guys.**

**And normal (but still greatly significant) thanks to:**

**buddygirl1004, Loslote, , dementorskiss xoxo and Alleykat203.**


	10. 10 Quaffles and Pick Up Lines

"_Truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."_

_-Albus Dumbledore in PS, written by JKR herself._

Quaffles and Pick-Up Lines

Lily walked into her house, still in the state of shock.

"Lily," her mother called out, "You've got visitors."

_Again?_ Lily thought to herself, but nonetheless, she entered into the kitchen, somewhat dreary. She was immediately tackled into a hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Mary," Lily said, laughing.

"Oh, Lily! I was so worried when James owled us!" Mary exclaimed, not loosening her grip on Lily whatsoever.

Lily patted her on the back, "I'm fine now! There's no reason to worry!"

Mary refused to let go, "I left my house as soon as James owled us you left!"

"I'm fine, Mary. I swear!"

Mary finally loosened her grip on Lily, and Lily quickly detached herself. When she was free from Mary's grip, she noticed that Alice, Marlene and Dorcas were sitting at her kitchen table, looking at Lily like a time bomb that could explode at any second.

"I'm fine, guys, really!" Lily said, attempting to convey her voice as normal, but the girls knew something was going on.

"Sit down and tell us what happened, dear," Marlene said, gesturing to the chair to across from her.

Lily sighed and sat down. She told her story, and the girls listened quite intently. When she finished her story, they looked at her, expecting more. "And that's it…" she finished lamely.

"So you spent a whole with Potter and Black and survived?" Dorcas said amazed.

"Dorcas!" Mary exclaimed, "She survived through a Death Eater ambush, and Potter and Black is more of a feat?"

Dorcas thought for a moment before responding, "Have you ever been around them for more than an hour at a time?" She shook her head darkly, "I was about to curse their heads off."

Alice rolled her eyes, "There's no lasting damage from the curses, then?"

Lily shook her head, "Not that I've felt. Mrs. Potter must be a magician or something."

Marlene laughed, "Or she could be a witch…"

Lily blushed, "Oh shush. I still forget sometimes."

"Have you seen Tom since? How's he doing?" Mary asked quickly.

"I saw him," Lily paused. "He's fine, I guess…"

"What do you mean by fine?" Marlene asked, concerned by Lily's tone.

"Well, he perfectly healthy. He just doesn't remember anything," Lily said, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, isn't it a good thing he doesn't remember anything? It's illegal, and-," Mary started, but she was cut off.

"You're leaving something out, Evans. Out with it," Dorcas insisted.

Lily inhaled shakily, "He doesn't remember _anything_."

Alice was the first to understand, "They removed all of the memories of you?"

Lily nodded, unsure what to say.

"Oh, Lily," Marlene said, standing up from her chair suddenly and embracing Lily.

Lily felt the lump in the back of her throat form along with the hot trickle of tears behind her eyes. "Everything is a lie now," Lily whispered.

"Shush, no, it's not," Marlene said, smoothing over Lily's hair.

"Yes, it is," Lily said stubbornly. "The whole relationship is just a dream I had. He doesn't even know my name."

"Whatever is meant to be will be, Lily-dear," soothed Marlene.

Dorcas sat across the room from the group of embracing girls. She looked lost and confused. "How much did you even like this bloke?" Dorcas asked bluntly.

Lily sniffed, "Well, quite a lot."

"What were you going to when you left September first?" Dorcas asked, despite the glares from Alice, Mary and Marlene.

Lily paused, "I was going to break it off with him before that."

"Then why are you getting upset about it?" Dorcas questioned Lily honestly.

Mary nearly hissed at her; Alice looked at her in complete shock, and Marlene glared at her.

"Don't say such a thing like that!" Marlene said, still squeezing Lily.

Lily untangled herself from Marlene, "It's fine. She's right, you know. I should just be thankful we're both alive and healthy."

Lily nodded to herself, attempting to get her own message through her head, "Besides, we've got other things to look forward to, like that Quidditch game!"

Lily's cheeriness sounded false to everyone in the room, but they nodded along with her.

The girls bantered about simple things that distracted Lily's mind off of the whole Tom incident. Soon enough, the sun fell past the horizon, and the girls had to leave.

They all hugged Lily earnestly (even Dorcas, which surprised Lily the most). Alice was the last to leave, but she hugged Lily and whispered into her ear, "Time heals all wounds. Don't forget that."

Lily smiled, "I won't. I'll owl you guys about next weekend, yeah?"

The girls replied in an affirmative way and piled into Mary's car. Lily watched them leave and felt happy, despite what had happened the past week.

.:.

_July 10__th__, 1976. An attack was ordered by the Auror Department on the residence of the prominent Lucius Malfoy and wife, Narcissa Malfoy. Aurors Charles Potter and Alastor Moody led the raid, along with countless other Aurors. They arrived at the Malfoy Manor to find it filled to the brim with Death Eaters. It is believed an inside source leaked to the potential Death Eater's intelligence. After fighting for hours upon end, the remaining Death Eater's disapparated, leaving the Aurors free to raid the residence. Auror Potter and young Auror Savage were the only injured severely and are being taken care of at St. Mungo's, in the newly re-constructed Auror wing. Fortunately, they discovered a prisoner camp being held in the cellar. Dozens of muggles and wizards alike were released owing to the raid. The newest list of suspected Death Eaters is available to those who inquire it._

.:.

Lily dashed around her house frantically, grabbing things and shoving them into her backpack simultaneously.

_Wand… check._

_ Ticket...check._

_ Clothes…check._

Lily exhaled relieved she managed to not forget anything (at least nothing major). She only had a moment before Mary began to honk her horn madly.

"Bye, Mum and Dad," Lily yelled out as she left. She heard her parents yell a good-bye as she closed the door. She bounced into Mary's car.

"Hello, darling," Mary said as Lily entered in the car.

Lily laughed silently, "Talking to Sirius recently, have we?"

Mary laughed, "Actually Marlene. She's picked it up from Sirius though."

Lily's eyebrows rose, "Marlene and Sirius have been corresponding then? I didn't see that one coming." She buckled her seat belt, and Mary roughly accelerated backwards. Lily shook her head, "Oh how I've missed your driving, Mary."

Not paying attention to the road, Mary looked at Lily. "Really?" Mary asked, shocked.

"No, watch for that tree, for Godric's sake!" Lily cried out and pointed to a tree that must've been millimeters from hitting the side mirrors off.

"Phew," Mary said, wiping invisible sweat, "that was close."

Lily only shot daggers in response.

Mary saluted Lily mocking, "Yes m'am!"

Within an hour, Mary and Lily arrived at Alice's house. Through the open windows of her house, Lily heard laughter that could only be Dorcas's and Marlene's.

Mary knocked on the door once, and Alice's kind face appeared immediately. "You guys are early," she remarked.

"Only because Mary insists on going twice the speed limit," Lily said, shaking her head.

Alice laughed and gestured the girls inside.

"Oh, tell me you're not wearing that to the Quidditch game," Dorcas said before Lily even entered into the house.

Lily looked at her clothes, normal jeans and t-shirt, "What's wrong?"

Dorcas rolled her eyes and muttered, "Birds these days…" She stood up and rifled through her bag. A moment later, she threw a t-shirt to Lily.

"How is this better than my shirt?" Lily said unfolding the navy blue shirt.

"Your shirt is green," Dorcas said simply. When Lily looked even more confused, she added on, "Neither of the teams even have green as their color, Evans."

"Oh," Lily said lamely. She looked at the shirt Dorcas gave her. It was navy blue and had Puddlemere United emblazed across the chest in gold. On the back, it featured large golden bulrushes, which Lily assumed was their logo.

She quickly went into Alice's bathroom to change, and when she returned, she noticed that Alice and Mary were wearing orange, while Marlene, Dorcas and Lily wore navy.

"Is orange for the other team then?" Lily asked foolishly.

Marlene looked at Lily like a mother would look at a toddler who finally figured out that the cube goes into the square hole, "Yes, darling. Orange is for the Chudley Cannons and blue is for the Puddlemere United."

Dorcas nearly burst out laughing, "For the top of the class, Lily, you can be quite dull."

Instead of retorting at Dorcas, she looked at Marlene, "So, you've been corresponding with Sirius, have you?"

Marlene smiled, "Yes, I have."

No blush or secretive smile appeared on her face. _Man, this girl was good._

Mary chipped in, "How's that going for you?"

Marlene looked at Mary, "It's going fine. Sirius has a very funny personality."

Alice was now interested, "Funny, you say? Would you also say he's caring?"

Marlene paused, unsure what the girls' motives were, "Sure, he's caring."

"How about charming?" Dorcas asked with a sparkle in her eye.

Marlene hesitated, which was completely uncharacteristic of her. "What are you three getting at?"

"Nothing, _darling_," Lily said.

Marlene glared at all of them, "I have no feeling towards Sirius Black other than the regular platonic ones we all feel."

Alice laughed, "Okay, just like how Lily and James are not going to fall passionately in love by the end of this year."

The girls' laughter drowned out Lily attempts at an argument, so Lily huffed instead.

"We better get going," Alice said, glancing at her watch. She offered a pot of Floo powder, and Lily, along with Mary, paled. She could never get used to the horrible feeling of travelling by the Floo Network. She shuddered.

"We're going to the Potter's first. They've got a Portkey set up near their house," Alice said, grabbing a handful of Floo powder herself. "Why don't you go first, Marlene?"

Marlene stepped into the fireplace, and throwing the Floo powder down, she yelled out, "Potter Manor."

The green flames engulfed her, and Marlene disappeared.

"Go ahead, Lily," Alice said.

Lily gulped and stepped into the fireplace. "Potter Manor!" she yelled out with uncertainty.

Lily squeezed her eyes and felt like she was getting squeezed through a tube. She couldn't tell which direction was up and which was down if her life depended on it. Fortunately, before she began to feel ill, her feet landed on something solid, and in a daze, she stepped out of the fireplace.

"Lily!" she recognized James's voice call out. Her eyes focused, and she saw a lavishly decorated living room, and James Potter was offering her a hand.

Being as disoriented as she was, she gracefully accepted his hand. She noticed Marlene had floo-ed successfully and was sharing a conversation with Sirius. Sirius must have said something funny, as Marlene started to giggle.

Marlene and Lily made eye contact, and Marlene's features resembled as if the girls were sharing a secret. With slight confusion, Lily just nodded.

"You're a Puddlemere United fan?" James asked incredulously.

"Oh, well Dorcas just lent me this shirt," Lily said honestly, toying with the hem of said shirt.

"I see," James said slightly crestfallen.

Mary appeared in the fireplace, seeming just as dazed as Lily had been. She began to mutter thing unheard by Lily, but Remus began to chuckle and offered her a hand.

Mary graciously took it, and Frank Longbottom entered the room.

Frank Longbottom was a fellow dorm mate of the Marauders, but he never got into in the marauding business. If asked, he would say his best friend was Alice Griffiths. Nearly the same height as Remus, he was slightly shorter James and Sirius but still towered over Peter. His round face began to smile when he saw the girls in the living room. The smile reached his warm, brown eyes when he saw Alice appear from the Potters' fireplace.

"Hey ladies," he directed towards Lily, Mary and Marlene. "Hey Al," he said, smiling.

"Hi, Frank," Alice said returning the smile.

Lily noticed Marlene and Sirius were not talking as intently as before. There was definitely something in between those two. Lily let it drop though. She definitely had questions about for Marlene later.

Dorcas was the last to arrive, and she immediately glanced around the room, most likely checking the colors of the shirts.

"Longbottom," she exclaimed, "you're a Cannons fan?"

Frank looked down at his shirt in confusion, "Yes?"

"Even Black has more sense than you!"

Frank scoffed, "The Cannons are just having a bad season."

James chipped in, "The Cannons have been having a bad century, mate."

Alice appeared at Frank's side, "It's not worth it, Frank. They'll see one day."

"We better get going. The game starts in an hour or so," Remus said, checking his watch.

As everyone was filing out, James appeared at Lily's elbow. "So, how are you doing?"

Lily shrugged, "I'll be fine."

James pestered, "You don't sound fine."

Lily rolled her eyes and repeated, "I'll be fine."

James gestured Lily to enter the car before him. She grumbled thanks and entered in the car.

Lily was mildly shocked when she looked inside. From the outside of the car, it looked like a normal, four-door, muggle car. But inside, there were three rows of seats, compatible to seat the group of Gryffindors.

As soon as they settled down into an agreeable seating arrangement, (Peter wanted a window seat because of his motion sickness; Mary refused to sit next to a touchy-feely Sirius, and Dorcas refused to sit in between Alice and Frank). Lily ended up sitting next to James on her left and Sirius on her right.

Lily had no doubts the car ride would cause an immediate headache, but she was pleasantly surprised to find Sirius was amusing himself by yelling out pick-up lines at Mary.

"Is that a wand in your pocket, or are you really excited to see me?" Sirius yelled to Mary.

Mary flushed and yelled back, "That doesn't even make sense, Black!"

"You must be magical, because I've fallen under your spell!" Sirius hammered on.

Lily rolled her eyes and tuned their conversation out. If Mary didn't blush so much, Sirius would bore of her quickly.

"So how are you truly doing?" James asked pointedly.

Lily rolled her eyes again. "I'm fine, James. I swear if anyone asks me that one more time…" she trailed off.

James continued to look at her with raised eyebrows and said nothing.

Lily sighed, "Tom doesn't remember me at all. He doesn't even know my name."

"I know. My dad told me later," James said sympathetically.

"It's just weird knowing that he won't remember anything I can." Lily paused and sighed, annoyed, "It's like I don't belong in the muggle world because I'm a witch, and I don't belong in the magical world because I'm a muggle-born."

James opened his mouth to refuse such a crazy idea, but Lily cut him off, "It's true. You can't deny it. Blood purists have never had more power than now, and you know that."

"You can't go thinking those things. That's things Voldemort wants you to think," James argued on. Lily flinched at "Voldemort", to which James rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but unfortunately, it was drowned out by Sirius screaming.

"HAGRID'S NOT THE ONLY GIANT AT HOGWARTS, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

"You're disgusting, Black!" Mary yelled while Lily thumped him the back of the head.

"Do you want to head toward the Shrieking Shack? Because-," Sirius began screaming out, but he was silenced.

"Please stop embarrassing our new friends, Padfoot," Remus said, putting his wand away.

.:.

"McCormick shots take aim and wow! The quaffle passes through! The score is now 170 to 10, Puddlemere in the lead!" the announcer's voice boomed through the stadium.

Sirius turned to Frank, "Looks like the Cannons are going to end at the bottom of the league again, Longbottom!"

Frank looked sourly at Sirius, "The game hasn't ended yet, Black!"  
"Mr. Longbottom is correct, Mr. Black," a voice said, coming from behind Sirius. Sirius jumped up violently to face Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. "You can never count your Doxies before they hatch."

Professor McGonagall hid a small smile, and Sirius saluted, "Sir, yes, sir."  
"Are you a Cannons fan, Professor?" James asked brashly.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled, "No, Mr. Potter, I am not. I have been a fan of Puddlemere since my youth, but I must be going now. Enjoy your game."

They all mumbled their good-byes to the professors and continued to glue their eyes back to the Quidditch action.

"Greggory passes it to McCormick, but it's intercepted!" the announcer's voice was colored in shock, and the orange-clad audience began to cheer wildly. "Roy, now with the Quaffle, but wait! Gatz makes sharp dive down! I think he's seen the snitch!"

Roy, the Cannon with the quaffle, turned around, waiting to watch the action, when another Puddlemere knocked the quaffle out of his grasp and streaked down the field.

"Ouch! Roy is fooled by Gatz! Greggory heads towards the goals, shoots and scores! 180 to 10, Puddlemere holding onto their strong lead!"

James sighed contently, "I've always wanted to play for Puddlemere after Hogwarts. Their plays are legendary."

"Wanted to? As in past tense?" Lily asked, intrigued.

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I mean with the war going on…"

Lily looked at him dumbfounded. Had James Potter honestly just skipped over an opportunity to not brag about his Quidditch skills? Had he just said something rational?

"Why are you smiling at me?" James asked, eyeing Lily strangely.

Lily began to laugh, "You're just full of pleasant surprises is all."

"Gatz shoots upwards, but did he really see the snitch?" The audience directed their eyes to the Puddlemere's seeker.

"It must be the real thing! Berley is following close behind Gatz!"

Gatz was zipping through the stadium, taking hard lefts and rights, and Berley, the Cannon's seeker, was hopelessly trailing behind.

After a few moments more of zig-zagging wildly through the stadium, the announcer cried out, "Gatz caught the snitch! Gatz caught the snitch! Puddlemere wins the match!"

All the golden and blue clad wizards and witches in the stadium stood up and cheered on their feet. Fireworks in the shape of bulrushes exploded in sky magnificently. The words "Puddlemere United" appeared in the sky as well; in such gold it would make Midas jealous.

The cheers continued as the team flew around the stadium in a victory lap. As they landed on the group, people began to file out of the stadium, with high spirits. As the Gryffindors filed into the car, Mary found herself sitting to next to Remus, which was a much better than Sirius, who was now using more pick-up lines on Dorcas.

Mary rolled her eyes, "Why does he insist on making a fool of all girls?"

Remus chuckled, "He just does. He was born using pick-up lines on the Healers at St. Mungo's."

Mary laughed, as Sirius yelled unnecessarily to Dorcas, who was less than three feet away, "HAVE YOU HEARD OF PLATFORM NINE AND THREE QUARTERS? WELL I CAN THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE WITH THE SAME MEASUREMENTS!"

Dorcas yelled back at Sirius, "WHAT? NINE AND THREE QUARTERS MILLIMETERS?"

That shut Sirius up for a few moments.

"So, how's Lily doing?" Remus asked Mary.

Mary shrugged, "She's getting better, but they were dating in all."

Remus nodded sympathetically for a moment before Mary's words hit him, "Wait they were dating?"

Mary covered her mouth quickly, "Oh no! I wasn't supposed to tell!"

"Lily didn't want anyone to know?" Remus asked, still confused.

Mary shook her head, "They were pretty smitten, and I think it was her first real relationship. James and Snape always ruined the chances at Hogwarts anyways."

Remus laughed at that, "I remember James's face whenever he found out Lily agreed to a date at Hogsmeade with someone."

Mary looked at Remus pointedly, "James won't hear about this, right?"

Remus held up his left hand, "Marauder's promise!"

Remus's right hand, unseen from Mary, was behind his back with his fingers crossed.

**I have a bunch of lame excuses for not posting, but I'd rather not bore you. I also just finished the Hunger Games series yesterday. Can you say awesome? I also got back from a week long college visit last week. It's difficult to think I'll be leaving for college in a little over a year from now.**

**Anyways, thanks to:**

**Loslote, marinewife08, Sapphire-Rosethorne and dementorskiss xoxo!**


	11. 11 A Fresh Beginning

"You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs.  
But I look around me and I see it isn't so.  
Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs.  
And what's wrong with that?  
I'd like to know, cause here I go again" Silly Love Songs, by Paul McCartney.

A Fresh Beginning

Lily was pouring herself a nice bowl of cereal when Petunia shrieked from the living room. Lily put the cereal box down angrily and shouted, "If it's another spider, Petunia, I swear I'm going to murder you!"

Petunia's angry voice shouted back, "It's another one of those freak owls actually. It won't stop pecking at the window!"  
Lily sighed, "Then open the window!" She stomped into the living room, and Petunia was still staring at the window, fear slightly visible on her face.

Lily felt her anger bubble up, but she smothered it before it could burst. Anger would only cause more fights, which Lily did not need this early in the morning. She calmly opened the window, "They're only owls, Petunia. They don't want to hurt you."

But Petunia only huffed in response and stalked out of the room.

Lily rolled her eyes and untied the owl's letter. She'd been expecting the Hogwarts owl, and the envelope felt significantly heavier than she remembered.

She opened the letter and dumped the contents onto the coffee table. A prefect badge fell to the table in a clunk, but that was no surprise. She'd been a prefect the year prior.

Three letters fell from onto the table. The first she opened was the supplies, like always. The second letter congratulated her on her prefect position as a sixth year, and the third ominously sat unopened.

_It has to be it_, Lily thought to herself as she reached to pick up the letter.

She unfolded carefully, as not to ruin it and scanned it quickly. She sighed in relief and scanned it again.

It was her OWL results. She received an Outstanding in Charms, Astronomy, Potions, Ancient Runes, History of Magic, Defense against the Dark Arts and Arthimancy. In Transfiguration and Herbology, she received Excellent.

She could live with those grades. Transfiguration was also the most difficult subject for her, and in Herbology, Alice was her partner, so Lily was free to daydream in that class.

Speaking of daydreams…

.:.

James Potter half lying, half hanging off his bed in the morning hours. His mouth was wide open, and his face was smushed into the pillow.

A large, black dog padded quietly into his room, unnoticed by James. The black dog seemed to smile for a moment, and nudged the sleeping figure with a wet (and probably cold) nose.

James flinched and fell off the bed but did not wake.

The dog seemed to roll his eyes and began to lick James's face frantically.

James started laughing and swatted the dog away, "That tickles! Hehe, stop it, Lily!"

Where the dog stood seconds before, Sirius Black now stood, and he was laughing heartily.

"Lily? Merlin, Prongs! You even dream about her?"

James sat up in alarm, "Why am I sitting on the floor? Why is my face wet? Why are you laughing?"

Sirius laughed harder in response, and James shoved his glasses onto his face.

"What's going on, Padfoot? I swear, if you peed on my face again-," James said, wiping off his face.

Sirius wiped the tears from eyes and cut James off, "Mate, I was licking your face as a dog, and you told Evans to stop it."

The tips of James's ears turned faintly pink, "Shove off."

Sirius held his hands up in surrender, "Secret's safe with me."

James rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Speaking of secrets, do you remember the muggle boy that was Lily's neighbor who was kidnapped?"

Sirius spoke slowly, "Yeah…"

"Fun fact: did you know Lily and the guy were dating?"

Sirius's eyebrows scrunched together, "No, I didn't. Why didn't Lily tell us, and how do you know?"

James shrugged, irritated, "Merlin, I don't understand birds these days. Mary let it slip to Remus accidently. I don't why she didn't tell us. Maybe she didn't trust us…"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Probably something more along the lines of not hurting your feelings, mate." James opened his mouth, most likely to deny said feelings, but Sirius cut him off, "Don't deny it. I see all your scribbles of hearts with little L.E.'s. I've got something that'll cheer you up though, mate."

With that, Sirius dashed out of the room for a few seconds and reappeared with an envelope in his hand.

"What's that?" James asked apprehensively.

"A letter from the muggle minister, inviting us to a nice tea Friday afternoon," Sirius said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "It's your Hogwarts letter, you twat."

"Padfoot, it's already open," James said, glaring at his best friend.

"You were asleep, and I was bored! What's that muggle phrase? The early bird gets hit two stones?" Sirius shook his head. "No, that's not it."

"Padfoot, I got O's in almost everything! Except Potions, History of Magic and Muggle Studies," James's voice trailed off sheepishly.

Sirius waved his hand dismissively, "Owls, smowls. Look at the next letter!"

James opened the next letter and sighed, "Requirements for Sixth Year Students: Standard Book of Spells: Year Six-."

Sirius snatched the letter from James, "Next one."

James muttered something incoherent and probably offensive to Sirius's ego, but nonetheless, he took out the last letter in the envelope. As his eyes scanned the letter, his grin grew larger and larger.

He looked at Sirius with an incredulous look.

Sirius smiled as he replied, "I know, mate. It's going to be our year."

.:.

Lily stood on the pedestal in Madam Malkin's as the little witch scurried about, taking measurements.

She grew just over an inch in the last year, and her school uniform was just too short. Not to mention she wanted to stay out of her house for as long as possible. September first was just a week away, and it couldn't come faster.

Frank Longbottom walked and yelled over his shoulder, "I'm sure I can do this without messing up, mother!"

Lily heard a shrill voice answer, but Frank just rolled his eyes. Once he entered the shop, he saw Lily.

"I'll be with you in a moment, Mr. Longbottom," Madam Malkin said, still measuring Lily.

"No problem," Frank said, flashing a smile to Lily. "How've you been, Evans?"

Lily smiled back at him, "Pretty good. September can't come fast enough though. How about you?"

Frank shrugged, "Fine, and I can't agree with you more. My mother has been driving me insane."

Madam Malkin disappeared for a moment and return with carefully wrapped packages. Lily exchanged her coins for the packages as she stepped down from the pedestal.

"I've got to still go to a couple more stores, so I'll be seeing you," Lily said after thanking Madam Malkin.

"It was lovely seeing you, Lily. See you in a week!" Frank said brightly as he stepped on the pedestal himself.

Lily left happily carrying her packages. She headed towards Eeylops to buy Harvey some more owl treats. Before she entered however, she peered in the window to see Sirius Black looking into the owl cages. She sighed and pushed the door open.

"Lily Evans, what a lovely surprise!" he exclaimed as Lily entered.

"Sirius Black, what are you doing here?" she said, mimicking his tone.

"Debating whether or not to get an owl. What do you think of the name Beaky?"

Lily stared at him, "It sounds like a toddler's name for its stuffed owl."

Sirius clutched his heart, "Ouch, Evans. You really know how to bruise someone's confidence."

"You confidence could use some bruising," she muttered under her breath.

Sirius ignored her comment, "So, word on the block is you had a summer fling, Evans."  
Lily narrowed her eyes, "Who told you?"

Sirius dismissed the question with a wave of his hand, "A little bird told me. I just wanted to know why you've kept your friends in the dark."  
Lily placed her hands on her hips and glared at Sirius, "My friends know, Black. As much as you believe you're my friend, you are not."

Sirius smiled at her fondly, "You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart." Lily kept her glare on his. "One more question though, honey pie. Why do I distinctly remember you telling us you and the muggle were just friends? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Why do you have to be such a prick, Black?" Lily growled, but when he just stared at her expectantly, she continued, "I don't really have a reason why. You Marauders have ruined almost every- what no, it's actually been every relationship I ever had the change of having at Hogwarts, and even though I knew you couldn't ruin this, I still didn't want to tell." She added on softly, "And I didn't want to hurt James's feelings. He's been a better person recently."

Sirius's eyebrows rose significantly. Lily felt a little victorious. _I just shocked Sirius Black_, Lily smirked internally. After a moment, Sirius asked, a little hopefully, "So do you've have a crush on James now?"

Lily laughed, "Godric, no. I said he's a better person, but he's still not a good person. I can tolerate being friends for now."

"But not a better friend than me, right?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow. Lily rolled her eyes and walked towards the owl treats. Sirius thought for a moment before asking, "So what would make him a better person?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe stop hexing people. Having a heart would help too. Not to even mention Snape."

Sirius laughed, "I'll pass the message on, but he really does have a heart, y'know." He stared at her intensely.

Lily brushed the look off and shrugged again, "It's not my problem, really. I'm not the delusional one in love here."

Sirius barked out another laugh, "You're rich, Evans. I think I'll keep you around."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Black."

Sirius left the store, chuckling and repeating delusional.

Lily felt herself smile. Sirius Black was slightly insane, yes. But, he was a good person, deep, deep, deep down.

.:.

Lily stood at Platform Nine and Three Quarters and smiled to herself. She had said good-bye to her parents in the car beforehand, and she still had twenty minutes before the train even left.

Deciding to get a good compartment, she rolled her luggage over to place it in the train. As she was lifting it, she saw a pair of hands grab the other end and effortlessly lifted it into the train.

She turned around to see the owner of said hands to see it was Remus Lupin.

"Oh, thank you, Remus!" Lily authentically thanked him.

Remus smiled, a little tiredly, "No problem, Lily. How was the rest of your summer?"  
Lily shrugged, "Pretty uneventful. How was yours?"

Before Remus could respond, a voice yelled out, "Moony!"

Lily located the voice as James Potter, who was walking over, waving excitedly. The sun caught something pinned onto his chest, and Lily's jaw dropped.

He had a badge on his chest. That wasn't possible. He couldn't be a prefect this year. Not a chance.

James gracefully loped over to where Remus and Lily were.

"Hullo, Evans. Didn't see you there," he said, messing up his hair.

When James got closer, she read his badge. It was gold, with a scarlet crest of Gryffindor, but it read Quidditch Captain. Lily nearly sighed in relief.

"Hi, Potter," Lily said.

"How's your summer been going?" he asked, switching his weight to his other leg.

"I was actually just asking Remus about that," Lily said, looking at Remus.

Remus didn't make eye contact with Lily, "You don't really want to hear about my summer. How've been Prongs?"

Lily looked like she wanted to protest, but James cut her off, "I can't tell you the number of times I was rudely awoken by Sirius because he was bored. He licked my face like a week ago."

"He licked your face?" Lily said incredulously. James and Remus began laughing like lunatics, and Lily just stood there, not quite getting it all.

James managed to talk through laughter, "He gets creative in ways he wakes people up."

"Speak of the devil…" Remus said, now he contained his laughter.

Sirius Black appeared at James's elbow a second later, "Moony! How I've missed you! And Evans! Have you proclaimed your love for me yet?"

Lily rose her eyebrows at him, "Yes, Black. You cut me off midsentence.

Sirius smiled in a way most girls would fall to their feet, but something caught Lily's eye. Severus Snape walked onto the platform and saw Lily and her company. He looked very sour indeed, and suddenly, Lily's vision was obscured as Sirius embraced her in a hug.

"What the bloody hell, Black?" Lily said into his shirt.

"Shush, no words, Lily-pie. You'll ruin the moment," he whispered very quietly.

Lily rolled her eyes even though no one could see them, "Can you let go now?"

Sirius only squeezed her tighter.

"Merlin, Black! I can barely breathe!" Lily stammered.

Sirius let go and smiled at her. He turned around to find a couple of fifth-year Hufflepuff giggling and pointing at him before hopping on the train, giggling some more.

Sirius followed them, but before hopping on he smiled at the group and flashed them thumbs up.

.:.

Alice, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas and Lily were sitting in a compartment hours later, catching up their summers (as if they didn't write enough).

Sirius appeared at the doorway of the compartment and walked in.

The group greeted him, as he happily said, "Hey ladies! How were all your summers?"

And before anyone even replied to his question, he glanced at his imaginary watch and exclaimed, "My, would you look at the time? I must be leaving!" And he left.

"He's slightly insane," Lily said, watching Sirius walk away.

Mary laughed, "Yeah, he didn't even have a watch- Oh my Godric! Did you smell that?" Mary plugged her nose.

The other girls sniffed the air for a moment before all plugging their noses too.

"Did he drop a dungbomb?" Dorcas asked, still holding her nose clamped.

Marlene looked at the ground, "No, I think he just farted and left."

.:.

"Welcome, students! New and old alike! I know your mouths must be watering thinking about the Hogwarts food you've missed terribly, but I do have some announcements," Dumbledore said, standing up at the teachers' table.

"I know some houses have some, ah, differences," he said, eyeing the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. The tables glared at each other in response. "But we must forget these differences to remain strong. The situation outside of Hogwarts is getting more and more grave, and to remain strong, we must stay unified. That is all. Enjoy your food!" He raised his arms, and food appeared magically. The first years gasped, shocked at the food, while all the other years dug in.

"Wha d'you guys shink 'bout wha Dumbledoo' jus' said?" James said, shoving his mouth.

"He's got a point, but I don't think anyone is going to do anything. Gryffindors and Slytherins just aren't meant to be alliances," Marlene said. "And don't talk with food in your mouth. It's quite disgusting."

James turned to Lily, "Hey, Evans, want some seafood?"

"No thanks, there's salmon over there if you'd like," she said confused.

James stuck his tongue out, full of chewed food, and Lily made a face at him before shutting his mouth for him.

"Ouch, Evans!" he exclaimed, holding his jaw. "You made me bite my tongue! Kiss it to make it feel better?"

"Shove off, prat," Lily said, but she couldn't hide her grin.

Severus Snape could be seen from the Slytherin table, stabbing a piece of steak repeatedly.

.:.

Lily finished unpacking her trunk and jumped onto her bed, sighing. As much as she loved home and her parents, she was happy to be back at the castle.

"Are you finally done unpacking?" Mary asked, her head sticking out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, why?" Lily said, content laying in her bed.

"Everyone's meeting down in the common room," she said, tying her hair up into a ponytail.

"What for?" Lily asked, still not wanting to get up.

"Oi, Evans!" a voice came from downstairs, "and McDonald. Get down here!"

Mary shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Sirius is drunk."

Lily laughed, "We better head down there before he tries to climb up the stairs again."

Mary laughed too, "Good idea."

The two girls headed down the stairs, and Sirius roared, "I'm going to come get you if you're not down here in five seconds!"

"We're right here, you impatient git," Lily said, getting to the bottom of the stairs.

Sirius had a smile plastered onto his face, "There you are! We've been missing you! Well, only Prongs has been missing you, Evans."

James's ear tips turned pink, "Shove off, Padfoot."

As Lily got closer to Sirius, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Merlin, Black, how much have you been drinking?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius said, but his credibility ended when he hiccupped at the end of his sentence.

"Sure you didn't, buddy," Lily said, clapping him on the back before sitting by a comfy armchair by the fire.

"So, Evans, how's your sister treating you?" James asked as he took the chair across from her.

Lily shrugged, "She called me a freak about five times before I left and refused to drop me off at King's Cross. Nothing different than the past years."

"She called you a freak?" James asked.

"Yeah, but it's not really-," Lily started, but James cut her off.

"But Lily…" James said seriously, "You are a freak." When Lily looked like she was about to start screaming at him, he quickly added, "Freaking awesome!"

The fire in her eyes that danced dangerously seconds prior died down, instead they rolled, and she smacked him in arm playfully.

James sighed and put his arm around Lily, and as she was struggling, he said, "It's going to be a good year, Evans."

**I'm a busy person, so please don't shoot me. I made this chapter longer for you all.**

**Thanks to: uhhhwellll, CatchEmAllEe, Rue-is-4evr, I-Siriusly-Love-Black, dementorskiss xoxo, Loslote and Shivv. I love all of you, and a special shout-out to pinkdude64, for being the bestest beta ever!**


	12. 12 Invaded Privacy

"Sometimes the questions are complicated, and the answers are simple." –Dr. Seuss

_Invaded Privacy_

Lily woke up the next morning contently rolling over and snuggling the comforter close to her face. With the realization she was at Hogwarts, her eyes shot open and looked for her clock. She still had about fifteen minutes before she needed to take a shower, but she sat up and rubbed the sleepies out of her eyes.

She groaned while she placed her left foot on the cold wood floor. Quickly, she turned on the shower in the bathroom and returned to grab her clothes.

As she re-entered the bathroom, the mirrors were steamed and the bathroom comfortably warm. She undressed and stepped into the shower, enjoying its warmth.

As she rinsed out her shampoo, last night's events came to her. A very drunk Sirius tried to get everyone to drink some Firewhiskey and only succeeded once he bottle-fed James a swallow or two. He also seemed to be infatuated with Marlene, who surprisingly dealt with it well.

Lily remembered one distinct moment when Sirius grabbed Marlene's waist and dragged her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around refusing her to leave, but there was no protest. She was sitting on his lap with a smile across her features. As for the others…

Remus looked sickly on and poked fun at Sirius's state occasionally, but mostly, he seemed to be as if he would rather be sleeping or resting. Peter laughed along with the others and cracked a couple of jokes himself. James was…

Lily frowned. She wasn't sure what happened last night. Of course he was forced by Sirius to drink some Firewhiskey, but he seemed much different than he did over the summer. He wasn't as sweet or thoughtful as he had been. Instead, he found insulting Snape and Lily and their past friendship much more amusing and worth his time. Eventually, Lily left the common room in anger. James had called her back downstairs to apologize, which Lily took with a grain of salt after hexing him with an Anteoculatia hex.

He continued the rest of the night careful not to upset Lily again. But the fact she legitimately believed he was truly a good person on the inside or even just a majority of the time had upset her slightly. She brushed the thought out of her mind as she turned the shower off. Wrapping herself in the towel, she wiped the steam off the mirror and glanced at her features critically. There was one small blemish on her forehead, but with a quick swipe of a potion Mary bought her for her birthday, it disappeared. She dressed and applied her make-up rather quickly.

Once she re-entered the room, she found Alice, Dorcas, Marlene and Mary still sleeping peacefully. She approached Marlene, who was usually the easiest to convince to wake up, but surprisingly, as Lily gently shook her, she didn't bulge.

_How long did Marlene stay up last night?_ Lily wondered to herself as she moved to Alice's bed instead. Alice jumped a mile in the air as soon as Lily gently touched her bare arm.

"Oh, Lily! Godric, you scared me so badly!" Alice said, one hand covering her chest.

Lily laughed, "Sorry, Alice, but it's nearly time to get up. Marlene won't get her arse out of bed!" Lily directed the second half to a still inanimate Marlene.

Alice climbed out of her bed and stretched. She yawned and glanced at Marlene, "What time did she get in last night?"

Lily shrugged, "I left last night at around eleven, and I didn't hear her come in." She paused, "But by the looks of it, sometime after midnight."

Alice giggled, "Oh Marley, what are we going to do with that girl?"

Lily frowned, "She wasn't too bad last year. It was mostly Mary we had to worry about." Together they glanced at Mary's sleeping figure and laughed.

Last year, while Mary was dating a boy in Ravenclaw who happened to graduate last year, she would return back from the dorms at two or even three in the morning, much to everyone's annoyance. She would noisily fumble her way into bed, and then in the morning, she would cuss at everyone and everything in sight.

"Well now since that McGowens boy graduated, I don't think we'll have too much to worry about. I'm off to shower now," Alice said grabbing her belongings and heading into the bathroom sluggishly.

Lily sighed and glanced at her very sloppy and very wet hair. Grabbing her wand, she cast a simple drying spell, which she figured would be enough for today.

Her natural hair was fine anyways. It tended to be frizzy some of the time, but mostly, it was found to be in large waves that were manageable. And since her most recent haircut, her hair framed her face quite nicely.

She glanced around her dormitory once again and decided to go get breakfast before the first large wave of students decided to. She slowly descended the stairs and hopped the last three like she did as a young child.

She smiled as it brought up the memory of her father's nickname for her, "Lily-bunny". As if reading her mind, a voice from the common room, "Are you a bunny, Evans?"

Her smile disappeared, and she looked up and saw James Potter sitting in an armchair by the fire, "What are you doing sitting here?" Her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.

"Sitting here," he said wittily.

Lily rolled her eyes and muttered, "Immature prick." She turned to leave, but he spoke as she turned her back.

"Actually, Evans, I was waiting down here so I could talk to you," James said walking after her.

She turned around quizzically, "About what, Potter?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, "I really am sorry about last night, Evans. I was just trying to be witty, but I realize it was quite rude of me. Accept my apology?" He ended with a mischievous smile which made girls swoon under his charm.

Lily was not one of those girls, but she did see his genuine apology underneath. "Sure, Potter."

"Brilliant, thanks Evans. I'll catch you later!" he said bounding up the staircase to the boy's dormitory.

Lily rolled her eyes again. James Potter was an interesting one. He apologized last night as well, and Lily still didn't believe it to be genuine. But truly, she couldn't be bothered with James Potter at the moment. She left the Gryffindor Tower and walked to the Great Hall humming one of her favorite muggle songs. Once she arrived, she sat herself down with a glass of orange juice and a bowl of fruit. She flipped through the Daily Prophet until her friends arrived.

Marlene was exceptionally groggy-eyed. She sat herself next to Lily and mumbled, "Pancakes, please."

Lily handed the plate of pancakes to Marlene, "So, what time did you get in last night?"

Marlene loaded her plate, "It's something to talk about later, Lily."

Lily raised her eyebrows but said nothing. Sirius came over to the girls and muttered something to Marlene. She looked at him and shook her head. She hissed something in response, and Sirius walked back to his friends.

Lily's interest heightened, but Professor McGonagall walked over to the group and handed out their schedules. She quickly glanced through it and nodded to herself. Today's first class would be Defense against the Dark Arts, taught by a new teacher supposedly named Professor Johnson.

A burst of laughter exploded from some ways down the table from the Marauders. "Johnson? That's absolutely perfect, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed.

In between chuckles himself, James answered, "I know, mate! This class is going to be brilliant."

"Does anyone get what they're laughing about now?" Dorcas asked helping herself to some toast.

Alice shrugged, "Does anyone ever?"

.:.

As the first class of the day started, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws sat anxiously in the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom awaiting their new teacher. Right as the bell rang, the professor entered into the classroom.

He walked to the front of the classroom with the slightest limp. As he turned around, Lily could see how incredibly tan he was. His wrinkles gave away the amount of time he must have spent in the sun. There was a scar above his left eyebrow which caused his left eye to appear slightly drooped than the right.

He clapped his hands together, "Good morning class. I am your new professor, Professor Johnson." His accent was obviously not from England, and it wasn't easy to place. It almost sounded like an old American film where the girl and bloke were tearfully saying good-bye on an airplane strip while it was raining. Then again, it sounded also like he belonged in an old American western film too. Maybe even he could part German. Maybe Egyptian? It was absolutely captivating and impossible to tell its origin.

He must have been a little over sixty or so and had leather-esque skin. He was tan, no doubt, and it had obviously come from spending countless hours in the sun over the years. His hair was carefully jelled back and was fully gray. He was a man of complete mystery, and he easily grasped every student's attention. Except for two: Sirius Black and James Potter…

As Professor Johnson wrote his name on the board, Sirius nudged James, and they both guffawed together; both of which tried to remain as silent as possible. The professor turned around and raised an eyebrow in their direction, "Please, boys, do tell us what you think is hilarious."

They looked at each other and displayed slight shock on their features that a new professor wasn't going to accept their antics. Lily rolled her eyes in annoyance. She didn't know what was so funny about Professor Johnson's name, but the two of them were incredibly immature. This morning, James tried showed his genuine (or what Lily thought could be his genuine side), but it was hidden now.

While Sirius made up a ridiculous story for Professor Johnson to take with amusement, James made eye contact with Lily and smiled. She glared at him, making it quite obvious she didn't approve of his antics. He frowned and paid attention to the professor.

"Like I was saying before, congratulations on making your way to the N.E.W.T. level class of Defense against the Dark Arts. This class's work will move faster than the previous levels, but I'm sure you will be able to take it on with grace," Professor Johnson said, smiling and looking at everyone in the room.

As he went through the expectations and curriculum for the year, James remained silent, and his eyes remained trained onto the teacher, even when Sirius nudged his side. Sirius frowned and began to pay attention as well.

Throughout the rest of the lesson, James paid attention to the professor but occasionally would glance over at Lily, who noticed his focus shifted to her but paid him no attention whatsoever.

"I believe that wraps our lesson for today," Professor Johnson said. "Any questions?" he asked glancing around the room, and when no raised their hands, he spoke, "Good. Class dismissed."

As everyone slowly filtered their way out of the classroom, Lily found herself walking with Marlene, James and Sirius to the Great Hall. It was an odd group to say the least.

All right, Evans?" James asked her.

Lily nodded, "Sure, Potter."

Marlene cleared her throat, "So, what is so incredibly funny about Professor Johnson?"

Sirius laughed, and James broke into a smile. Sirius said between guffaws, "His name."

Marlene's eyebrows scrunched together, "What do you mean by that?"

While Sirius was trying to come back with a witty response, James spoke quickly, "It's err, what Sirius likes to call his…manhood."  
The two proceeded to laugh again, and Marlene broke into a smile. Lily rolled her eyes, but she expected it from them. It would have been funnier if they hadn't been so rude in class. She suddenly remembered what Marlene promised, "So Marlene, you never told me what time you got in last night."

Marlene flushed, which was incredibly unusual. The number of times Marlene was embarrassed over the years at Hogwarts could be counted with the fingers of a single hand because being embarrassed "is just silly". Lily also noticed that Sirius seemed to be very uncomfortable as well. Slowly, Lily put the puzzle pieces together, and as if a switch was turned on, she internally gasped. She knew something was going on between them! Did she not call it?

"We'll talk about this later. All right, Lily?" Marlene said sending Lily a very clear message not to bring it up again in current company.

.:.

While Professor Binns droned on later that day, Lily wrote neatly on a piece of parchment and folded it and sent in Marlene's direction.

Marlene's eyes scanned over the note, and she frowned. She wrote her response rather quickly. Furious note-passing ensued.

_Is this a later time? Can you finally tell me what's going on now?_

Lily, is this necessary right now? We're in the middle of class.

_Marlene, we're in History of Magic. We're not going to get a private conversation anytime else._

Fine. I came back to the dormitory around three in the morning.

… _From doing what? You need to be a little more detailed._

Well, I was with Sirius.

_Marlene! Don't make me hex you!_

Fine! James and Peter were the last ones to leave, and you know I was still sitting in his lap. He was still decently smashed, and one thing lead to another.

_Meaning what? You guys kissed? Snogged?_

Snogged, yes. And some other stuff.

_Meaning what? I'm so close to hexing you right now. Don't tell me you shagged, Marley._

Of course not. I'm not tart, Lily. Just a little bit of heavy snogging, and I'm sure my neck looks like it's been attacked by a vampire. It meant nothing.

_Blimey. Well does he remember it? He was smashed._

I didn't think he would, but you saw his reaction when you asked me.

_Unfortunately for you, I see James and Sirius passing notes as furious as us... So… Is Sirius Black as good as a kisser as everyone says he is?_

Well… he was really drunk, so not really. But if that was his bad kissing, I kind of want to see the better part.

_Well do you fancy him then?_

I'm not sure. It's kind of more complicated than a yes or no. I mean sometimes he's really charming and fanciable, but then again, the other half of the time, I feel like hexing him.

Just then, the bell rang, dismissing the students. Lily read the rest of Marlene's answer and frowned. She only wanted what would make Marlene happy, and she wasn't sure if Sirius was the right choice for her. Only time could tell…

As Lily picked up her belonging, she noticed James throwing away a crumbled piece of parchment. Curious, she debated herself whether or not to pick it up. She was sure it was a note exchanged between James and Sirius during the class discussing the same exact thing as Lily and Marlene were.

But reading it would be a breach of privacy, and it would be disrespectful. Marlene wouldn't want to know information that was found by invading someone's privacy. But maybe Marlene didn't have to know. It could be information that stayed with Lily…

Deciding on it, she swiftly reached into the rubbish bin and placed the crumbled note into her bag.

**A/N: Sorry about taking ****forever and a day**** (ahh, get it?) to update, but I've been trying really hard to finish my first story, Love and Reason, and I kind of neglected you. If you would like to read that, it's available for you! I hope all of you had happy holidays!**

**P.S. Who else heard JKR is in the process of writing another book?**


	13. 13 Finally Friends, Finally More

"But I'm staring at you now. There's no one else around. I'm thinking you're the girl for me. I'm just saying it's fine by me if you never leave, and we can live like this forever. It's fine by me." Andy Grammer, "Fine By Me"

**Finally Friends, Finally More**

Lily carefully unfolded the note while walking to the Gryffindor Tower. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she checked behind both shoulders to make sure James and Sirius were completely out of sight.

Not seeing anyone in sight, she walked slowly as she read the note:

_Why did you act so weird today around McKinnon? Did something happen last night?_

**Mate, I know I was smashed, but I think I may have snogged her last night.**

_What? I don't believe Marlene would do that, Padfoot. I'm sure it was just some weird dream you had._

**That's what I thought too, but you saw how she reacted when Evans asked her. Speaking of Evans…**

_Don't even joke about it, Padfoot. I've been trying so hard, but she doesn't seem to notice anything._

**I'm pretty sure after your jabs at her last night she won't be noticing you anytime soon…**

_Shove off! I'm pretty sure after your sloppy snogging last night Marlene isn't coming back for seconds…_

**Fair enough. But really, do you think Marlene could fancy me?**

_I dunno, mate. Stop being a girl, and why don't you ask her yourself?_

**Point taken. After dinner, it will be settled.**

And that was the end of the note. Lily noticed she had stopped walking while reading. Students were walking past her, looking at her strangely. She continued her pace and brushed her fingers through her hair.

Dozens of questions filled Lily's brain. Immediately, Lily wanted to run to Marlene to tell her the news, but Lily debated it. Should Marlene be told? But wouldn't she ask where the source came from? And what was with James? Lily wasn't noticing what?

She walked without conscious thought of doing so while her mind continued to swirl. Mindlessly, she gave the password to the Fat Lady and quickly shoved her note in her bag. Taking two steps at a time, she rushed up the stairs. Once she got into her year's room, she opened the door.

Mary stuck her head out of the bathroom and called out, "Hey, Lily!" Once she saw Lily's expression, she added, "What happened? Did you see a ghost or something?" She chuckled at her own joke.

Lily smiled, "No, my brain's just scattered right now. Do you know where Marlene went?"

Marlene walked out of the bathroom, "I was just fixing myself up. Why did you tell me my make-up was a mess?" She smiled and placed her hands on her hips.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Your make-up is never messed up, Marl."

She relaxed and removed her hands from her hips, "Where were you?"

Lily dismissed the question with a wave of her hand, "I left my book in the classroom and turned around to grab it."

"Oh, well let's head to dinner, yeah?"  
"Yeah, sure. Mary, you coming?" Lily asked

"I'm waiting here for Dorcas, but save us seats!" she yelled back from inside the bathroom.

"All right! See you down there," Marlene answered.

As they walked out of the tower, Marlene suddenly turned to Lily, "Did you actually forget your book?"

"Uh," Lily stalled. If there was the perfect moment to tell Marlene about the note, it would be right now. They would soon join the noisy and open Great Hall. The conversation could easily be overheard, and not to mention Lily would be ashamed if Potter or Black found out about the note-reading. She decided quickly against telling Marlene about the note. It would be better off not knowing, especially for Marlene.

"Yeah," Lily finally answered. "You know I forget things everywhere."

Marlene laughed softly, "That couldn't be truer."

They walked together into the loud atmosphere of the Great Hall. Lily glanced where the Marauders were sitting, and Sirius kept glancing about the hall nervously. When his eyes meet Marlene's, his mouth broke into a smirk and the uneasiness disappeared in his eyes. He quickly turned back to his friends, but he kept smiling.

Lily looked at her friend, who couldn't stop smiling either.

.:.

Marlene walked in the girl's room with eyes bright and an impossibly bright smile to match as well. Before anyone could ask, she quickly spoke, "Because I know you all are going to badger me in a few seconds with questions, I would like to announce I am officially Sirius Black's girlfriend."

Alice and Mary squealed in delight, while Dorcas looked surprised and Lily simply smiled.

"How did it happen?" Mary asked.

Marlene smiled, "He asked to meet me after dinner, so we walked together, and he said some password to the Damara Dodderidge portrait. We took a secret passageway that somehow ended up in the clock tower. We walked up the staircase to the top of the tower…

_ A slightly chilly breeze blew through the open tower, and Marlene shivered. Sirius shrugged off his top cloak and placed it on Marlene's shoulders. He stepped close to her and rubbed her shoulders._

_ "Thanks," she said and looked up at him._

_ Sirius was tall enough that he could comfortably look down to make eye contact with Marlene. They held their eye contact for a moment, then for another moment and another. Sirius smiled and glanced at her lips. Marlene smiled back and rose onto her tiptoes while she closed her eyes. Their lips meet briefly, and Sirius placed his hand on the small of her back._

_Marlene pulled back slightly and whispered, "You remember last night then."_

"_You weren't scarred for life by my terrible snogging then," Sirius smiled and leaned down for another kiss._

_Marlene pulled away slightly again, "I can forgive you for that, but I don't believe this should be a regular occurrence."_

"_Hm? Not a regular occurrence?" Sirius said, resting his forehead against hers. "May I ask why?"_

"_Maybe because it's not acceptable for a young girl to go around kissing boys who they're not dating," Marlene said taking a step away from him. She was slightly hurt he could think she would be that kind of person._

_Sirius grabbed her hand, "I didn't mean it like that, Marlene!" After seeing her look of confusion, he added, "I meant it something like…"_

"_Like what?" Marlene asked._

"_Like a relationship," Sirius answered scratching his head, "But no 'like a relationship', a real relationship. So I guess what I'm getting at is, Marlene would you be lovely enough to be my girlfriend?"  
She responded by grabbing his other hand and smiling, "Yes, I would love to."_

"…And then he kissed me again," Marlene finished.

Mary grabbed a pillow and threw it at Marlene. "Why didn't you tell us you liked him?" Mary asked angrily but still in a joking matter.

Marlene threw the pillow back, "I'm not one to have silly crushes!"

Alice rolled her eyes, "Cut it off, Mary. I'm sure she would have eventually. A more important question is whether Sirius Black is as good of a kisser as Hogwarts claims him to be?"

Marlene blushed, "Maybe." She paused, "Maybe not."

At this point, four pillows were launched at her.

.:.

About a week later, the school began to settle down from the beginning-of-the-year jitters, and everything (mostly at least) seemed to already have a routine. Professor Johnson's classes continued to be interesting, and sixth-year classes were more laid-back than previous years, except for Professor McGonagall's class of course.

The news of Sirius and Marlene's new relationship shocked most of Hogwarts when they were seen holding hands or just being puking-ly adorable during the mealtimes. A couple of girls didn't seem to take the news very well, as they were in Sirius Black's fan club. But other than getting a couple of dirty looks, Marlene didn't receive too many problems from them.

A couple of days after the news of the couple being official, Lily made a quick bathroom break before lunch. A crowd of girls walked in once Lily was in the stall. They sounded to be around fourth years, and by the unfamiliarity of their voices, they didn't belong in Gryffindor either.

"I still can't believe Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon are dating," one girl said.

"I know, right? Could you hand me the eyeliner?" another girl replied.

"Sure, here. And I know! Marlene is such a cold, fake bitch. How a bloke like Sirius could ever go for a girl like that is beyond me!" the first girl replied.

A third girl spoke, "Well, I think it's kind of sweet. They look cute together."

The first girl snickered, "You also think James Potter and that Lily Evans girl are soul mates too. Get your head out of your ass!"

Lily was still in the stall and confused as ever. She had been angry of course when they started to talk badly of Marlene, and then severely dumbfounded that people had been talking about her and James being soul mates. Didn't Hogwarts see how much the bickered?

Hearing enough of the conversation, Lily flushed the toilet and opened the stall door. She saw three girls standing in front of the mirrors, applying excess make-up to their already made-up faces.

When one of the girls made eye contact with Lily through the mirror, she quickly nudged both of the other girls, and they all looked at Lily like a deer in headlights. Lily calmly turned on the water faucet and began washing her hands before speaking.

"For your information, Marlene McKinnon is not a cold, fake bitch. She's just quiet sometimes, and Black sincerely likes her much better than any of you. And here's a second piece of information for you: James Potter and I are barely friends, and I doubt soul mates consider each other barely friends, but thank you to the person who said that because you must have some heart," Lily said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Now scram before I can memorize your faces and put you in detention."

The girls quickly turned on their heel and scurried out. Lily rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "Girls these days."

Quickly drying her hands, she walked down to the Great Hall for lunch, and the smell of delicious elf-made food hit her. Her mouth began watering, and she quickly found her friends and the Marauders sitting next to each other.

There was one spot open next to James and one next to Peter. Taking the lesser evil, she sat next to Peter.

"You will not believe what I just overhead in the bathroom," Lily said plopping herself onto the bench.

"What?" Alice asked.

Lily re-told the story, and throughout the re-telling, all of her friends began to listen in.

Their reactions to the story were common (anger and slight shock), except for one person, James. He had a strange expression on as if he was hiding something no one knew.

Marlene and Sirius didn't look effected by Lily story, and Sirius shrugged, "No one could have really guessed a McKinnon and a Black would ever date willingly."

Marlene's frown broke into a smile, and Peter began to fake vomiting. "Get a room you two," Remus chipped in.

While the rest of her friend bothered the couple with their newfound somewhat revolting cuteness, Lily turned to James. "What's with the face?" Lily asked bluntly.

"What face? This gorgeous one right here?" James said gesturing to his face and also trying to hide his smile.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Are you going to tell me why you're smirking, or are you just going to be annoying?"  
"What's annoying? Could you give me a definition?" he asked.

.:.

After classes and dinner, Lily sat in the common room in her favorite spot in front of the fire. She wrote to her parents a watered down version of what had happened at school the first week. She mostly talked about the new professor and how much harder her classes were this year, but she did like to include some information about her friends.

Once she filled up the parchment, she folded it up, exited the common room and headed to the Owlery. Once she began to climb the stairs, she shivered. She wished she had brought her cloak with her. It was just September, but once the Sun went down, all the remnants of the warm summer disappeared completely.

Once inside, she looked around for Harvey. She whistled and offered an owl treat for him. He swooped down gracefully and accepted the treat. While he ate his treat, she tied her note on quickly and pet his feathers softly before Harvey took off, and she watched him disappear into the night sky.

Lily turned around to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway, unsure whether or not to enter. Lily gasped slightly.

"Hullo, Severus," she said. She nearly called him Sev, but she wouldn't allow herself to use his nickname anymore. He didn't deserve his nickname anymore.

"Lily," he responded. He entered the Owlery and looked around for a suitable owl. It seemed like Lily would just be able to leave without an awkward conversation.

Lily went to make a quick exit, but Severus called out to her, "I've missed you, Lily."

She stopped in the doorway and sighed, "I've missed you too, Severus, but it doesn't change what you did."

He was silent for a moment before responding, "If you truly missed me, you wouldn't be with Potter and his cronies."

Lily turned around incredulous, and Severus added on, "My lack of loyalty to you was a slip of the tongue. Yours is deliberately friending an enemy. You decide whose is worse." He didn't turn around and was still facing out the window when he finished talking.

Lily stood on the other side of the room rigidly. "Deliberately friending an enemy? You have to be joking. Potter can be a prat, but you're overreacting. Besides, my business is no longer yours, and if I had to pick sides, I would pick Potter's or even the Giant Squid's over yours any day."

She stormed down the stairs and began to get furious. Lily couldn't believe Severus had actually said those things. Tears started to pour down her face. She angrily wiped them away. Why was she crying?

This summer she had gotten over Severus, and it only took one confrontation and a couple of rude words headed to her direction before she broke again. She couldn't believe how much of a weakling she had become. She scolded for being so easy to upset, but it didn't help the tears that continued to slide down her face.

She turned down a hallway at random, wanting to be alone. Instead, she crashed into someone.

Lily sniffled, "Sorry." She intended to fully continue on her path to avoid all social contact, but the person who she ran into had another plan.

"Did you cast an imperio curse on me? Because I can't seem to control my body when I'm around you," the one and only Sirius Black said. "Oh shit, Evans. Are you crying?"

Lily looked down to avoid eye contact, "No." But her quiver in her voice and sniffle lead to another, opposite conclusion.

Sirius lead Lily down the hallway, further from any passerby's that could interrupt them. Once they were farther away, he spoke, "Now tell Papa Sirius what happened that upset the poor Lily-flower."

She sniffled, "It's nothing really, Sirius. I'm just an overemotional girl." She tried to laugh, but it came out miserably.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "That is obviously a load of rubbish. We can do this the hard way by sitting here in awkward silence until you talk, or you can just talk now."

Lily sighed and sniffed indignantly, "Fine. I was sending a letter to my parents, and Severus walked in. We had a spat."

Sirius stroked his non-existent beard, "Yes, well what was this spat about?"  
Lily shrugged, "My so-called 'lack of loyalty'," she said putting air quotes around Severus's words. Sirius just motioned her to continue talking.

"He told me I have a lack of loyalty because I was friending with the enemy, which is Potter, and I guess by association, all of you Marauders. He said his slip of the tongue was so minor to my faults, and I don't know. It just made me so angry," she ranted out and wiped her eyes irritably. "How could he say that? His friends in Slytherin are so much worse to me than you have ever been to Severus. His friends are probably going into the Death Eaters group and drag him into it too. Those Death Eaters will be hunting muggle and muggle-borns like me! How is petty little pranks worse than that?" she sighed shakily. "I just can't believe we were ever friends. I've lost him to the dark side, and now there's nothing to do about it."

Some more tears slid down her face, but she no longer cared. She hugged her knees instead.

Sirius was quiet for a moment, "I know what you're talking about exactly." When Lily went to disagree, he held his hand to silence her, "No, you don't know anything about my family life. I ran away this summer to the Potter's. They took me in like a second son, and now I couldn't be happier. But before I left, I said good-bye to my only blood-related brother. I abandoned him with my insane family. There's no doubt he'll be joining that side too, hunting down blood-traitors like me. I can't say I don't deserve it after abandoning him like that."

The two sat in silence against the stone wall for a few moments. Neither had much of a clue what to say or to do to console the other. After awhile, Lily spoke up, "So we're in the same boat, and this boat's rotten. I say we just jump out of this one and hop into another one. We both realize there's not much to do, and we have lovely friends sitting in the Gryffindor Tower waiting for us. I say we join their boat."

Sirius chuckled, "This boat is rotten." He stayed silent for awhile more before standing up and offering a hand to Lily. She took it and stood up carefully. He wrapped his arms around her for a moment and let go. "I think before we join our friends in the Gryffindor Tower, we should enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies for our adult people talk."

Lily laughed, "I agree. To the kitchens we go!"

"You know where the kitchens are?" he asked, surprised.

"Nope," she said linking arms with him, "But you're a Marauder and probably found it years ago."

.:.

About a week later, Lily was walking down to breakfast for some early alone time before the Great Hall would be crowded with chattering students. She heard a voice call out, "Hey, Evans! Wait up!"

She recognized the voice to be the one and only James Potter. She sighed, _So much for a peaceful breakfast_. Nonetheless, she slowed down and glanced at him over her shoulder.

Once he caught up with her, he asked quite bluntly, "Why have you been avoiding me, Evans?"

"Wh-what?" Lily stammered utterly confused.

"You heard me," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn't sound upset but factual.

"I haven't been avoiding you, Potter," she said while racking her brain for a reason why he would think that.

James looked at her, "You've hung out with all the Marauders except me!" Lily opened her mouth to argue, but James talked over her, "You tutored Peter twice this week for hours in Charms. You went to the kitchens with Sirius for hours last week, and you're always studying and doing your perfect duties with Remus! When was the last time you even spoke to me?"

Lily paused to think when she actually did take the time to talk to James Potter. He took her pause as more proof to his point, "Exactly! And you're always-."

Lily interrupted him, "Potter, the last time I actually talked to you was after the attack. Since then, you've been a complete arse to me. What would make you think that I would want to talk to you?"

He was silent for a moment, "I apologized for that night when I made fun of Sni-Snape."

"Just because you apologize doesn't mean it disappears," Lily responded.

James was stumped. He was expecting an apology or maybe even a hex or two. He wasn't sure what to say anymore.

"How about we go eat breakfast then?" Lily suggested. "And then I can say I spent time with all of the Marauders."

Breakfast wasn't as peaceful as Lily first envisioned this morning when she woke up, but she couldn't say it was an unpleasant one. James was different when it was just the two of them. Lily liked it when he was like this much more than when he was around everyone else. He ran his finger through his hair less and smiled genuinely more. The mischievous twinkle in his eye remained, and his laugh was infectious.

Even though they had agreed to become friends months ago, it hadn't felt like it until just now.

**So I updated earlier than the last time! This is actually a pretty long chapter, and I'm proud of it! I was surprised at the number of reviews there were, and I honestly expected a lack of reviews since I don't update as often as I would like (or as often as you guys would like either). On a brighter note, I have finally decided on a college for next year! Anyone else in the same boat?**

**Thanks to: ., uhhhwellll, I-Siriusly-Love-Black, dementorskiss xoxo and HappyHungerGames!**

**And a thanks to the ones who favorited/alerted this story! I would like to ask you to pretty please review, even if it's just a smiley face or frowney face just so I know you're still reading!**

**Cheers!**

**P.S. Who else is super excited about Hunger Games coming out?**


	14. 14 Succumbing to Desires

"_If it's still on your mind, it's worth the risk." _-Unknown

Succumbing to Desires 

Remus was just finishing buttering his toast during an early breakfast with Lily on a Saturday morning when the owl swooped in and dropped a letter in front of him.

He and Lily had a prefect meeting at seven thirty in the morning and decided to get some quiet time and a bite to eat before the rest of the school woke up. They had increasingly gotten better friends this year due to the decreased tension between her and James.

Remus curiously opened the letter and immediately dropped the piece of toast. He started muttering to himself under his breath things Lily's couldn't distinguish.

"What's wrong, Remus?" Lily asked concerned.

He muttered something else incoherent and cradled his head with his hands. Lily didn't repeat herself, and Remus finally answered, "Lily, the letter is from my father. My mum's leukemia got worse, and she passed away last night in her sleep."

Lily looked at him with wide eyes, "That's terrible, Remus. I'm so sorry." She pulled his hands away from cradling his face and took them into hers. "She's lucky to have passed in her sleep, and I'm sure she knew how much you loved her."

He detached himself from her and left the Great Hall without another word. Lily sighed, grabbed his letter and left to arouse his friends about the recent news. She wouldn't attempt to find him because knowing Remus; he wouldn't want to be found.

She walked through the castle on autopilot and ended up on the bottom of the staircase for the boy's dorm. She paused for a moment to debate what she could find up there. Shuddering but climbing the stairs nonetheless, she wondered if anyone was even up. She pushed the door open to find all the sixth year boys fast asleep with clothes spewed across the floor. The combined smell of clean and dirty laundry, cologne and smelly boys made Lily immediately cover her nose.

_Boys…_ she thought to herself. She glanced around the room to see which boy to wake up. Frank wouldn't be too much help to console Remus, and Peter won't either. That left Sirius and James. She glanced around the darkened room to find either of them, and fortunately, they had beds next to each other. Unfortunately, neither of them had shirts on.

But she must say that Quidditch definitely did well for their bodies…

She sighed and shook Sirius's shoulder. He mumbled something about flying house elves and turned over. Lily shook him harder, "Sirius, can you get up? I need your help."

He snored in response.

"Sirius!" she yelled, but she didn't wake him up. Actually, it seemed like she didn't wake anyone in the room up. She glanced around, and surely enough, Frank and Peter continued their snoring. She looked at James who was now rubbing his eyes.

Without putting his glasses on, James sat up in his bed. "Who are you?" he asked groggily.

Lily answered grinning, "It's Lily. Are you really that blind?"

James fumbled around on his nightstand for his glasses, "What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, Lily gave him the letter Remus's father wrote. His eyes scanned the letter quickly, "How did you get this? Where's Remus?"

"I don't know where he went. We were eating breakfast when the letter was delivered, and he left," Lily answered.

James got up from his bed, and both knees and ankles cracked. When Lily grimaced at the noise his joints made, he responded simply, "Quidditch."

He rummaged through his trunk for a shirt and jeans and then disappeared in the bathroom. Lily looked around the room, and everyone was still fast asleep. So much for waking Sirius, but James could probably console Remus just as well.

After a minute or so, James appeared from the bathroom fully dressed. He rummaged through his nightstand for an odd-looking piece of parchment. "C'mon, let's go find him."

"What's the parchment for?" she asked trailing him out of the dormitory.

"It's a…" James debated whether or not to tell Lily about the map. She had gotten closer to the Gryffindors this year, but would she think the map would be inappropriate?

With one glance at her face, which was full of concern and worry for Remus, he decided she wasn't the same girl who constantly reported her to the prefects for having a fanged Frisbee in the common room.

"It's actually a map the four of us made during fifth year. We're still working on it through," he said.

Lily looked at him like he grew a third head, "It's a work in progress all right. It's just a blank piece of parchment, Potter." She laughed slightly.

He laughed and pointed his wand to the piece of parchment, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

"You solemnly swear what? What are you planning on-," Lily said incredulously but broke off mid-sentence when she saw the ink slowly began to form into a map.

She picked the map off from James, "This is incredible magic! Does it have everything in the castle? All the floors and classrooms?"

James smiled. It was nice that he was actually able to impress her every once in awhile. He took a step towards her and flipped through the folds, "It has every part of the castle and grounds. There's one room we can't get, but Remus thinks it's unplottable."

Once Lily noticed the tiny footsteps all around the castle, she became even more impressed, "Are those actual people? And where they actually are?"

James smiled, "Yeah, as soon as they enter the grounds, their name shows up."

Lily shook her head in amazement, and James tried to look through the map for Remus in his favorite hiding spots. But he was slightly (actually considerably) distracted by the small distance between him and Lily. While she ogled at the map in amazement, he studied her face.

He had never been so close to her before, and he wished he could count the numerous number of freckles decorated across her face. Her cute little button nose could have dozens by itself. Her pinkish red lips were small, delicate and dainty. He was suddenly overcome with the desire to kiss her when he realized she started talking again.

"Remus is in the Astronomy Tower," she said with her finger next to the footsteps labeled Remus Lupin as they paced across the tower.

She seemed to be completely oblivious to the effect she had on him. "Let's go then," he said.

He had a strange but strong urge to grab her hand as they hurried out of the common room, but he suppressed the urge. As they approached the tower, James wished he brought his jacket. He heard someone sniffling on the other side of the wall, which he figured was Remus.

James turned the corner to see Remus sitting against a wall with red eyes and a runny nose. It was obvious that he had been crying, but he wasn't anymore. Instead, he was staring off into the distance and didn't even acknowledge his friends.

James sat against the wall next to Remus, and Lily sat on Remus's other side.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, mate," James said since he didn't know what else to say. James lost several faceless relatives before, but it was never as intimate as a parent.

Remus shrugged, "It's not your fault, James."

"How are you feeling, Remus?" Lily asked gently.

He shrugged again, "I knew once she was diagnosed that death was inevitable, but for some reason, I kept thinking her death wasn't possible. That the Healers or muggle doctors would cure her, and she would be fine. By Christmas break, she would be making my favorite peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cookies and functioning normally, y'know?" Tears threatened to spill, but both James and Lily pretended not to notice. He continued, but his voice was now shaky, "It's hard to accept that she's really gone."

.:.

The next couple of days were especially difficult on Remus. He gained sympathy from all of his professors, including Professor McGonagall, but he didn't accept it. He completed his homework on time and paid attention in his classes like normally.

He even completed his patrols with Lily on Wednesday, the day before he left before his mother's funeral. As Lily chattered about everything and anything, Remus was overcome of how much she proved to be a friend these last couple of days.

She respected when he didn't want to talk or eat. She listened to him intently rant or complain however much he wanted. She helped him finish his homework when he did space out in class, and they talked about mindless things. Remus really appreciated the mindless things, as they were distractions that didn't allow his mind to wander where he didn't want. She offered to find a substitute for him for rounds, but he insisted that he would patrol with her. He was incredibly grateful for her, and he didn't know how to show it.

"You know what, Remus Lupin?" Lily said suddenly turning to him.

"What, Lily Evans?" he said smiling. Her mood was so infectious, and he couldn't help but smile when he was around her.

"It's Wednesday night. There isn't going to be any couples sneaking around snogging. There won't be second-years daring each other to roam around the castle at night. I say we go to the kitchens," she said with her eyes wide with excitement.

"Lily Evans breaking a school rule?" Remus said. "That must be a first!"

She rolled her eyes, "What do you say, Remus?"

"I say to the kitchens we go!" Remus said. Lily took his arm into hers, and like that, they strolled to the kitchens.

Once they entered the kitchens, dozens of house elves greeted them quickly. Lily whispered into one into their ears, and they quickly went to work.

"What did you tell them?" Remus asked suspiciously.

She shrugged and smiled, "You'll just have to wait to find out!"

They sat at the pseudo Gryffindor table while the house elves worked furiously. They continued talking about mindless things, about Professor McGonagall's new hat, Slughorn's difficult essay, James's hair yesterday (it looked like a bird made its nest in it). As they stopped laughing at the thought of James Potter's uncontrollable hair, the house elves delivered a plate of cookies. They looked like…

"Lily, you didn't," Remus said completely taken away by her thoughtfulness.

Immediately, her eyes widened in fear she offended him, "Is it okay, Remus? I didn't want to-."

He cut her off, "They're perfect."

On the plate were peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cookies, just like his mum loved to make. He took one off the plate and took a bite. They weren't like his mother used to make, but they were still delicious.

Lily, who was relieved that she hadn't offended Remus, also took a cookie. As if she sensed that he didn't want to talk about his mum at the moment, she instead ate in silence.

Remus decided to try to thank Lily for everything she has done this week, but he didn't know how to exactly start.

"Look, Lily," he said, "this week has been incredibly tough for me, as you well know, and you've been so incredible to me this week."

She smiled and said earnestly, "It's nothing, Remus, really."

He sighed, "No but really, you didn't have to do anything for me, but here you are: bringing me to the kitchens instead of walking around the castle purposeless for hours." He looked at his hands looking for more words to say. Instead, Lily took his hands into hers.

"Remus, I truly don't believe how much a kind person you are. If this situation was switched, I know you would do anything for any of your friends," Lily said intently. Remus looked at her, and Lily held his gaze.

Remus was the second person this week that had a strange but strong desire to kiss her right then and there. But unlike James, he listened to that impulse and leaned forward to meet her lips.

.:.

**A/N: Oh dear. I can only imagine the hate I'm going to get for that… Ah! But I'm going to try super hard to get the next chapter up ASAP, so don't hate me too badly :( I was also so glad to see some new faces in the review :)**

**Thanks to:**

**dementorskiss xoxo, common ravenclaw, ItDidntMeanForever and hpfreak113.**

**A special thanks to hpnumberone for leaving some constructive criticism. I would love to message you back, but I'm not able to. So I guess I'll just say you'll need to wait before you judge on my clichéd-ness :)**


	15. 15 Converted Feelings&Mutual Friendzones

"Would you look at her? She looks at me. She's got me thinking about her constantly, but she don't know how I feel, and as she carries on without a doubt. I wonder if she's figured out I'm crazy for this girl. Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl." –Evan and Jaron

Converted Feelings and Mutual Friendzones

She was surprised and didn't respond for a moment. Once she gained her senses, she began to kiss back.

He placed his hand on her lower back, and she rested her hand around the nape of his neck. They broke apart for a moment, and Lily whispered, "Remus…"

But almost greedily, he placed his lips back on hers. Once they broke apart again, Lily let go of him, and unwillingly, he let go of her. He looked at her for a reaction, but she seemed to devoid of one.

It seemed like she was looking for him to say something first, so he cleared his throat, "Well, then."

.:.

"And then completely out of the blue, he kissed me! He kissed me, Alice!" Lily said waving her hands around. "I didn't know how to react! I've never thought of Remus as anything farther than platonic, and now he kisses me? I didn't want to be rude and not kiss him back; I mean he's still upset about his mum and all, but Remus?"

Alice smiled, "So what do you think now?"

Lily shrugged, "I mean, I can't date a bloke because I feel bad that his mum died, but I can't say that he was a bad kisser either."

Alice laughed, "He _isn't_ a bad kisser? So you enjoyed the kiss?"  
Lily threw a pillow at her head, "I'm done talking about feelings and kissing now. Let's go get dinner." She stood up and started to walk down the stairs to the common room.

Alice followed Lily out of room, "I'm intrigued now. Did you or did you not enjoy Remus Lupin's kissing, Lily Evans?"

"Alice, shut it. I don't want people to overhear what happened!" Lily said as she stepped into the common room, but it was James Potter who was sitting in the common room looking extremely confused.

"Did Alice just ask you if you enjoying Remus's kissing?" he asked seriously.

Lily tucked her hair behind her ear, "No… She asked if I enjoyed Remus's… hissing."

"His hissing?" James asked with his eyebrows raised. He obviously didn't believe a word that came from her mouth.

She sighed, "Can you just keep it quiet for now? He's got enough going on in his life right now."

"Keep it quiet!" he asked incredulously. "My best mate just betrayed me, and you want me to keep quiet?"

It was Lily's turn to be confused, "Betrayed? How did he betray you?"

He exhaled angrily and ran his fingers through his hair, "You know what, Evans? Don't worry about it. You've caused enough troubles for today."

This set Lily into a rage, "I caused enough troubles for today? Excuse me? Just because he didn't have time to tell you himself before he left for his mum's funeral doesn't mean he betrayed you, Potter!"

"It's not that, Evans," he said maliciously.

"Then what, _Potter_?" she asked with wickedness emphasizing his last name.

"Would you just back off, Evans?" James yelled. "It's not any of your business between us! None of it involves you!"

"Considering you're angry that Remus kissed _me, _then I do have business in this! Spit it out, Potter!" she said crossing her arms across her chest.

He ran his fingers through his hair, and Alice tried to interrupt by grabbing Lily's arm, "Let's go, Lils."

She tugged her arm away from Alice, "No, I'd like to hear how Remus betrayed Potter."

James glared at her, "He broke a pact, Evans. It's none of your business what's in that pact. Now go with Alice." He stared at the fire stonily.

Lily allowed Alice to drag her out of the common room. Once they were outside, Alice said, "Are you bloody oblivious to every bloke's feelings about you?"

"W-what?" she stammered.

"Isn't it obvious?" Alice said with a pointed look at Lily. Lily didn't know how to answer, so she raised her eyebrows. Alice sighed, "The Marauders obviously made a pact that involved you, and I'm guessing it was primarily saying that James had some sort of dibs on you."

"What?" she yelled incredulously. "I am not a piece of furniture! He can't call dibs on me. Especially considering James and I never get along!"

Alice snickered, "You just called him James, Lils."

If looks could kill, Alice would have been dead on the floor with the glare Lily was giving her. "Accidents happen," she said simply.

.:.

James continued to stare emotionless at the flickering fire after Lily left. James felt a combination of anger, betrayal and confusion muddle together. _How could Remus do this to me? Why couldn't Lily see what was wrong with it? Is she really the blind about e? Is she really that blind about everything I did this year to impress her? Does she just consider me a friend? Does she really have feelings for Moony? How could he do this to me?_ James thought to himself.

Sirius walked down the stairs and saw the expression on James's face, "Blimey, mate. What happened to you?"

James glared at Sirius, "I just accidently overhead Lily and Alice talking about how Remus kissed Lily."

"Oh," Sirius said quietly, "I was wondering when you'd find out."

"What!" James shouted out. "You knew about this too?"

"Well Remus came into the dormitory after his patrolling, and I was still up since I couldn't sleep, and he had a funny look on his face. I asked what was up, and he told me," Sirius said sheepishly.

"Were you planning on telling me this whatsoever?" James asked venomously.

"I was planning on letting Remus tell you once he got back actually," he said not meeting James's gaze.

James didn't answer, and he continued to stare into the fire. Sirius came up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder, "You know what would make Evans absolutely bonkers?"

"What?" he asked blankly.

"If you pretended like nothing happened," Sirius said smiling. "Maybe flirt with a couple of birds or two."

James punched him on the arm playfully, "No, I don't figure I want to make her any more mad than she already is. She was nearly blowing steam out of her ears before Alice dragged her out the room."

Contrary to his word though, James went to dinner and acted as if nothing happened. He even flirted with a fellow sixth year Ravenclaw, which wasn't the most intelligent choice, but James always claimed he was extraordinarily dense when it came to Lily.

.:.

Remus was dressed in black from head to toe when he arrived back to the Gryffindor Tower. He rubbed his eyes and climbed the familiar stairs until he reached his dormitory. Inside, everyone was sitting in a circle on the floor playing what Remus assumed to be Exploding Snap.

He dropped his suitcase onto his bed when James spoke out, "I've been hearing interesting things about you, Moony."

He opened his suitcase before turning to James, "What interesting things, Prongs?"

"You and Evans kissing actually," James said callously.

"James-," Remus tried to explain, but James cut him off before he could.

"You knew I have fancied her for years! All of you promised me in fourth year that none of you would even try to date her, and here you are! Kissing her! I can't believe that out of the Marauders, it would be you, Remus Lupin, who broke that pact! I expected Sirius or even Peter to be the ones who would blatantly betray me like that!" James yelled at Remus as he paced across the room. "Evans and I were finally getting on friendly terms until this happened, and now we can't be in the same room without screaming at each other! I can't believe you, Remus!"

It was Remus's turn to cut off James now, "Would you listen to me first? I don't know what I was thinking! I was upset about my mum's death, and by the way, her funeral was fine, thank you for asking."

James looked at his feet and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Remus. I was-."

Remus cut him off again, "No, let me finish. I was upset and confused, and I didn't know what could have been possibly going through my mind that day. She had been a great friend to me that week, and I just converted those feelings of thankfulness to romantic, which was completely wrong. I realized the day after what I did was a terrible mistake, and I am sorry for it, Prongs."

Sirius whispered in the background, "Damn, who could resist that apology?" Frank and Peter punched him in the arm simultaneously.

James was quiet for a moment, "I'm sorry, Remus. I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I knew you were upset, and I should have asked you about it first. Mates?" He stuck his hand for a shake.

"Mates," Remus said smiling and shook his hand. They pulled into a hug and patted each other's back.

Sirius wiped a fake tear away, "Beautiful, my friends. Absolutely beautiful."

This time he received four simultaneous punches.

.:.

The next morning, Lily woke up early from her bed and quickly dressed. Remus came back to school the previous night and hadn't sought her out. She assumed because he believed the kiss was a mistake, which after much girl talk and spacing out during History of Magic, Lily agreed.

Remus of course was sweet and thoughtful enough (and many girls attending Hogwarts would agree with his attractiveness), but Lily could honestly see nothing past their current friend situation. It was impossible to imagine him more than a friend, and the thought of even holding his hand seemed just plain wrong.

She creeped up the boy's dormitory stairs and opened the sixth year boy's door softly. James, Sirius, Peter and Frank were all fast asleep, and Remus was putting on his shoes.

"Oh, you're up," Lily said softly.

"Hello to you too, Lily," Remus said.

"Can we talk?" she asked in a small voice.

Remus smiled, "Of course. Let me wake up James first, and then I'll come downstairs. I'll meet you down there, okay?"

"Okay," she said. She felt like a little kid being ordered by Remus. While she waited for him, Lily paced around the room nervously.

Once she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, she turned to see Remus enter into the common room. She exhaled and tried to speak first, but Remus held up his hand to silence her.

"One, sorry for interrupting you, but I would like to speak first. Two, I am sorry for the rage that James placed on you. He should be fine now. Three, I am sorry for any emotional distress I may have caused you over the past day, and four, I'm sorry for kissing you. I was upset and confused, and I altered my feelings of great gratitude for you to romantic feelings. It sounds like a bullshit apology that only happens on terrible foreign soap operas, but it's genuine, I assure you," he said very elegantly.

Lily exhaled in relief, "Oh thank Godric, Remus. I think we can both agree now that the kiss was unexpected and oopsies on both our parts, and as for Potter, he's nothing I can't handle."

Her apology was a lot less eloquent than Remus's but no less genuine. They both laughed and pulled into a quick hug.

"I had no doubt you couldn't handle James," Remus said smiling.

"I've been dealing with him for years now. He's nothing," Lily said laughing. "I do have one question though."

"Yes?" Remus asked.

"Is there really a pact where none of the Marauders can date me?" she asked.

Remus winked, "Only three can't."

.:.

Sirius woke up one morning the following week excited for the day. No, he wasn't excited for Transfiguration class or double Potions. It seemed like it would a normal Tuesday, but Sirius knew it would not. The Marauders pulled off a fantastic prank, and Sirius was especially the brains behind the operation.

Student's learn the Cheering Charm in the third year at Hogwarts, but not too many know it can be transfigured into food, the breakfast food actually.

This was one of their silly and light-hearted pranks, but nonetheless, it promised to be a good one. Everyone who ate breakfast at the Head Table would have the Cheering Charm in their bodies' moments after beginning breakfast, and Sirius may or may not have strengthened the charm to have the side effect of laughing hysterically.

He quickly got ready and rushed to the Great Hall to see some early-rising teacher already laughing uncontrollably and pointing to a pitcher of orange juice. He glanced at the other Marauder who all hid their grins.

Quickly, the Great Hall filled with students, and slowly everyone at the table began to laugh. Professor Dumbledore wiped his eyes and laughed along with Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra over what seemed to be not funny at all.

Professor McGonagall was laughing along, but she attempted to glare at the Marauders to let them know she knew where this was coming from.

The rest of the school looked absolutely baffled by their professors laughing like lunatics. Some actually joined along. Lily turned to Sirius, "What did you do this time?"  
He shrugged, "You're remembered for the rules you break or bend. Not for the rules you follow, Evans."

She huffed but smiled anyways, "At least Dumbledore seems to be enjoying himself."

That was true. He was now trying to start a line dance with all of the teachers, and all teachers joined in and danced out the Great Hall. Classes for the day were postponed until the Cheering Charms wore off to a point where laughing wasn't inevitable, which took about two hours.

The Marauders were graciously thanked over and over throughout the day, and Sirius took each one personally. He decided in around nine months he would really miss Hogwarts.

**A/N: Look how fast I updated! I had an extra long weekend to write, and I also wanted to write this chapter, so all of you weren't left hanging for long. Also, does anyone want chapter summaries at the top of each chapter, so they don't have to read back to see what happened?**

**Thanks to: **

**Jg13145, Victoria Gryffindor Peverell, I-Siriusly-Love-Black, starpathfinder, Sweets5236, ItDidntMeanForever, CalmToxic, greemRiperAndMe2, Miyu and ElPotato101!**

**I'm at 99 reviews, so who will be the lucky hundredth? :D**


	16. 16 Bulgers and Broken Wrists

"_The problem with guys is that they pretend to like you when they don't. The problem with girls is that they pretend not to like you when they do."_ Unknown

Bludgers and Broken Wrists

James was on his broom watching the game progress. It was the first game of the year, and it was against Ravenclaw. They were third last year, while Gryffindor came in a close second with Slytherin.

His seeker, Darcie Burrow, was a new addition to the team. She was a quiet and small third year, and under the tough practices he had been giving, her flying improved drastically. But right now, she was reaching for a snitch when a Slytherin beater hit a bludger in her direction.

The bludger turned into a black small monster and attached itself to Darcie's arm. She fell off her broom in shock, and James reached to catch her and fell off his broom as well. Before they could hit the grass the ground transformed into a bubbling pit of lava.

James pulled out his wand out and found his wand to be a string of licorice. The lava pit was fast approaching, and right before they hit the ground, James gasped and sat up in his bed.

_It was just a dream_, he told himself. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at his watch. _Great, it's 3:17 A.M._

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw game would start in roughly eight hours. It was his first game as being a captain, and he didn't want Professor McGonagall to regret her decision. Not to mention, the whole school would the responsibility of winning or losing on his shoulders.

He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. Losing sleep would only hurt his playing abilities.

.:.

Hours later, James was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Remus, Sirius and Peter. He pushed around his scrambled eggs. He knew he should eat something, but he just lacked the desire to eat.

Marlene and Lily walked into the Great Hall and approached the Marauders. Marlene kissed Sirius on the cheek before sitting next to him. Lily plopped onto the bench next to James, "Are you ready for the big game today, Captain Potter?"

He laughed, but it sounded like animal dying. "Yeah," he croaked.

The group continued to chat while James pushed around more food. He stood up at ten o'clock, "I'm going down to the pitch."

"Me too," Sirius said standing up. He kissed Marlene before leaving.

Together, they made their way to the Quidditch Pitch and into the Gryffindor locker rooms. "Are you ready for Ravenclaw to be absolutely crushed today, mate?"

James laughed nervously, "Of course!'

Sirius knew his best friend was anxious and clasped his shoulder, "You've been a great captain. The game will go fine! They lost two of the chasers this year, so they'll be an easy beat. Breathe, Prongs."

James smiled a little weakly, "Let's get dressed, Padfoot."

As they dressed into their Quidditch robes, the rest of the team filed in the locker room as well. The small, dainty seeker named Darcie Barrow was the only one who looked more nervous than James. It was her first game, and she was just a third year.

Olivia Pennifold walked over to Darcie and began to console her. She was the keeper and was a fifth year and had been added to the team last year. Everyone could remember the nerves before their first Quidditch game.

Sirius and the other beater, Mason Wood, were currently hitting their bats against each other. It was considered to be their version of a good luck handshake. Both of them joined the team same year (Sirius's fourth year and Mason's third year), once the older beaters graduated.

James began to talk strategies with the other two chasers, Dorcas Meadowes and George Crossman. Dorcas was of course in the same year as James, and George was a year above him. James and Dorcas joined the Quidditch team as a second year, and he had been on the team the longest. Even though George was a year above James, he hadn't been taken out of the reserves until George's fourth year.

James sat the team down on the bench before they marched out. "This is the first game of the year, today guys. We haven't been able to see how their new team playing yet, but we know that their captain last year graduated. He was a star player, and even with his plays, the Ravenclaw team still placed third," he paused. "Now, they could have fresh meat, so we can't get too arrogant."

"Let's go crush those Ravenclaws!" Sirius said. The team laughed and clapped, and they stood up

Before the two teams marched onto the pitch, James stood next to Darcie. She was more pale than usual, and her anxiety was clear.

"You're going to do great," James said to her. "Just stay clear of the Ravenclaw Beaters, and you'll be fine. You've been doing great in practice."

She smiled nervously, "Thanks Captain."

With that, the two teams began to march onto the field. The announcer, a sixth year in Hufflepuff named Freddie Tugwood, intensified his voice and announced the players as they walked to the center of the pitch.

The stands were filled with students from each house. It was the first game of the year, and most students wouldn't miss it. Other Quidditch players would be there to scope out new player tactics, and the rest of the students mostly came to cheer or socialize.

James and the Ravenclaw captain, Eli Ackerley, shook hands politely. The players took to their respectable position.

"Keep this game clean, and make this a good game," Madam Hooch said. With that, she released the four balls into the air, and the players pushed off the ground.

James quickly seized the quaffle and looked for his team mates. Dorcas was blocked off by a Ravenclaw chaser, so he looked for George.

"Potter quickly gets the quaffle and looks for his team mates. Luckily, Crossman is open and tosses it to him. Crossman catches the quaffle and makes his way down the pitch," the commentator's voice blared across the stadium.

"Crossman tosses it back to Potter who throws it, and GOAL! Ten to zero, Gryffindor!"

James beamed to himself. He scanned the crowds for his friends and saw Marlene, Remus, Peter, Lily and Mary sitting together.

James found Lily the day after Remus came back from the funeral and apologized for acting like a git. She accepted the apology and even (somewhat) apologized for acting out of line. Things were back to normal (at least normal for them). James waved towards his group of friends and went back into the game.

"Mumps passes the quaffle to Kirke, who starts her way to the Gryffindor posts. A nice bludger hit from Wood makes her swerve, and she loses the quaffle. Meadowes catches and makes a quick throw, and GOAL! Twenty to zero, Gryffindor is still in the lead!"  
James beamed. His team was really being as strong as they were in practice. Pride filled him completely for his team for working so well.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Darcie quickly dive into the heat of the match, looking intently at something. The commentator noticed this too, "Burrow must've seen the snitch, and she's diving after it!"

The Ravenclaw seeker, Penny Parkin, dove after Darcie, but Darcie got too much of a head start. Leo Murray, a Ravenclaw beater, must have noticed that too, and he swung the bludger right towards her.

As if time slowed down, James realized the bludger was going to hit Darcy. Sirius and Mason were preoccupied elsewhere in the game, and Darcy was watching the snitch too intently to realize the bludger was about to hit her.

Without thinking too clearly, James flew in the path of the bludger. With a loud and painful thud and crack, the bludger hit his arm and wrist. James clutched onto his broom and swore loudly from the pain.

"And Burrow catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins with an ending score of one hundred and seventy points to zero! This has been one of the quickest games we've seen! The clock stopped at eight minutes and twenty seven seconds!" The commentator continued talking to the crowd who was going crazy over the quick Gryffindor win.

James flew to the ground in severe pain in his wrist. Madam Hooch flew to him and landed on the ground.

"That was some bludger, eh Potter?" she said. She carefully pulled up James's sleeve and took off his glove. "Oh dear, that's a broken wrist all right."

.:.

Sirius made his way to the ground, congratulating his team mates. He high-fived his fellow beater, Mason Wood, and said "Good shot at that chaser, mate."

"Thanks," he said. "That must have been one of the quickest games we've ever had!"

"I know! We were on the field for what, five minutes?" Sirius said laughing. In the background, he saw James being taken with Madam Hooch away with a wrist splint on his right hand.

"Whoa, what happened to James?" Sirius said.

"While you hitting the bludger away from Crossman, Murray hit the other bludger right at Darcie. He took the hit, so she could get the snitch," Mason said with obvious pride for his captain.

"Damn, I'll catch you later, all right? I'm going to go up to the Hospital Wing with James," Sirius said running over to his best friend. Mason waved good bye.

"Hey, Prongs, I just heard what happened!" Sirius said catching up with James.

James grimaced, "Yeah, I'll be fine though."

Madam Hooch asked Sirius, "Would you take him up to the Hospital Wing for me, Black? I have to go catch those bloody bludgers."

"Aye, Madam Hooch," Sirius said saluting to her.

She smiled at him, "Thank you, Mr. Black. I appreciate it." With that, Madam Hooch turned around and got onto her broom.

"I'm pretty sure you gained ten times the respect from everyone on the Quidditch team from the move, Prongs," Sirius said.

James smiled and shrugged, "I'll just have to teach Darcie to watch for bludgers next time."

Sirius laughed, "Did Hooch say it was broken?"

"Definitely," James said miserably. "Do you suppose Madam Pomfrey will let me leave after she mends it?"

Sirius sighed, "If anyone can flatter Poppy enough, it would be me and you."

.:.

Sirius ended up being completely wrong.

"Mr. Potter, I cannot let you leave the Hospital Wing with your wrist," Madam Pomfrey said sternly.

"Madam Pomfrey," James pleaded, "my wrist feels perfectly fine now!"

"And," Sirius chimed in, "We can't have real Quidditch party without the captain!"

Madam Pomfrey replied, "Mr. Potter, I must ensure your wrist sets and heals completely, which won't be for another twelve more hours. If you were even to pick up a glass the incorrect way, you could damage the healing process." She added on, "And you feel fine because of the potions I gave you. I assure you if I hadn't given you the potion, you would be griping about the pain."

James groaned internally. He knew she wouldn't allow him to leave, but he had hoped she would anyways.

"Go and enjoy the party, mate," James said to Sirius.

"I'll be back to visit in a couple hours," Sirius promised. He turned and left the Hospital Wing.

James sat back in his bed and huffed. This was about to be a long day.

Luckily for him, his team mates walked in a minute or two after Sirius had left.

Darcie was the first one to get to his bed side, "I'm so sorry, James! I should have been looking out for bludgers, but I was just too obsessed with the snitch! I never should have-."

James cut her off, "It is fine, Darcie! It was your first game, and you caught the snitch! We won the game thanks to you, and it only took you twenty minutes to find and capture it! We'll run some extra drills in practice next week, that's all."

She blushed, and it was Mason who spoke next, "The way you took that bludger, mate!" He sounded completely breath-taken, "It was just fantastic!"

James smiled, "Thanks, Mason."

Dorcas Meadowes stood behind Darcie, "That was some hit you got there, Captain. How many bones did that break?"

James shrugged, "Just one. I must drink enough milk."

They laughed. They reminisced about the game a little more before Madam Pomfrey shooed them out so he could eat his dinner and rest. Once his friends left, Madam Pomfrey handed him a glass of milk and a turkey sandwich.

He ate slowly while glancing out the window. There was one other student in the infirmary that had a hacking cough. Deciding he would have nothing else to do for the next couple of hours, he sat on the edge of his bed. "My name's James Potter," he said offering his good hand out to shake.

"Earnest Fawcett," the boy said. "You probably shouldn't shake my hand unless you want to be sick too."

James withdrew his hand smiling, "How long have you been in here?"

He shrugged, "Since yesterday. Aren't you the Gryffindor Quidditch captain?"

James nodded, "Yes I am, and Gryffindor won, one-seventy to zero."

"Yeah, I overheard the announcer. Madam Pomfrey let me open my window to watch," Earnest said gesturing towards the window closest to him. It actually had a decent view of the grounds and the Quidditch Pitch.

"Are you from Ravenclaw then?" James asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not too crazy about Quidditch. At least not yet I am," the boy answered truthfully.

James shrugged, "Give it a couple of years."

"Is that how you hurt your wrist then?" Earnest asked.

"Yeah, I took a bludger to the wrist, so my seeker wouldn't have to," James said shrugging.

"That's awfully brave of you," Earnest said in awe.

James clapped him on the shoulder, "Y'know, you're not terrible company, Earnest."

"Mr. Potter, you have a visitor," Madam Pomfrey said.

Behind Madam Pomfrey stood Lily Evans, "How's it going, Potter?"

He stood up from Earnest's bed and sat back in his own.

"I'm fine," he said puzzled.

"That was some game," she said sitting on the edge of his bed, "and you've got a new admirer as well."

He raised his eyebrows, "And who would that be?" He immediately hoped it would be her, which could be the reason why she showed up to visit him in the Hospital Wing. It could also be why she and Remus never dated even though they kissed.

Lily laughed, "Darcie of course! She hasn't stopped talking about how brave and cool and awesome and heroic you are!"

James ran his finger through his hair, "Oh well, she'll be over it by tomorrow."

Lily shrugged, "I brought you some brownies from the party too. It got too stuffy in there, so I came to visit you."

He took a brownie from her, "Thanks Evans."

"No problem, Potter. How's your wrist feeling then?"

He looked at it, "It feels fine, but Madam Pomfrey said it needs to set before I can leave."

Lily nodded, "She's right you know. If it doesn't set correctly, your bones will be damaged."

He sighed, "I know, I know."

Lily laughed, "You'll just have to celebrate all the other wins Gryffindor will have."

James laughed and rolled his eyes. He said sarcastically, "I guess that will have to suffice."

Sirius walked in the Hospital Wing, "There you are, Evans!"

Lily stood up and turned around, "Oh hello Black, and there you are!"

Sirius put his arm around her shoulders, "How's my little champ doing?"  
The tips of James's ears turned pink, "I'm fine, Paddy."

Lily removed his arm from her shoulder, "I'll leave you two now. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow, Potter."

"Bye," he said lamely to her back.

"Bad luck, mate," Sirius said.

"I think she's starting to tolerate me," James said shrugging.

"I think so too. Maybe it'll be your year, mate!"

James laughed, "Maybe, maybe not. But it must be your year with Marlene. How are things with her and you?"

Sirius sighed, "I was talking to Olivia, and she took it the wrong way. She got upset and went up to her dorm." He paused for a moment, "I don't know Prongs. She's a great girl; she's pretty and nice. She laughs at all my jokes, even when they're terrible. She's polite to everyone, and she quiet and calm about everything. She never raises her voice or gets upset. But, she's insecure about everything I do that involves another girl."

James sighed, "Well considering your track record last year, she has a right to be insecure."

Sirius sighed, "I know, and I stopped being friendly with other girls for her, but she just doesn't notice it."

"Welcome to my world, Padfoot," James said leaning back in his bed.

Sirius laughed, "Unfortunately, I now understand why you don't prank Snivellus anymore or even call him Snivellus anymore."

James ran his fingers through his hair and laughed.

"I guess the change is for the better," Sirius sighed. "Just promise me one thing, Prongsies-poo."

"I hate that nickname, but what, lovely Paddsies?" James said.

"We'll still be brothers no matter how we change for a girl, right?"

James whacked him over the head, "Of course."

.:.

**A/N: Look, another chapter! It feels good to be writing so often :) I'm also considering writing a couple of drabbles about the Hunger Games. What do you guys think?**

**And since all my fantastic reviewers forgot to answer this before: do you guys want a short summary of the previous chapters at the top?**

**Thanks to:**

**ElPotato101, Hayley Lynch, greemRiperAndMe2, Tanja88, eeveelutionluvr, ItDidntMeanForever and jg13145!**


	17. 17 Another Gryffindor Victory

In the last chapter, the Gryffindor Quidditch team had their first match against the Hufflepuff team. In the first couple of minutes, Gryffindor scored two goals, resulting in twenty points. The new seeker, Darcie Barrow, saw the snitch early in the game, and as she was chasing after it, one of the Ravenclaw beaters hit the bludger towards her, and James noticed it was going to hit her off her broom, so he flew in the direction of the bludger, resulting in a broken wrist and a win for the Gryffindor team. Lily takes an unexpected visit to James which confuses James but makes him happier nonetheless.

Another Victory for Gryffindor

Around a week after the Quidditch game, James saw Earnest in the hallway looking much better than he did in the Hospital Wing.

"Hey, Earnest!" James said.

"Oh, hi, James!" Earnest replied. "How's your wrist?"

"Back to normal," James said. "You're better too then?"

Earnest nodded, "I got to leave a couple hours after you. Have you and Lily started dating yet?"

James laughed and stuttered, "Wh-what?"

"Yeah," Earnest replied, "you obviously like her, and she obviously likes you. Why else would she give you brownies? Girls only give brownies to guys they like."

James was silent for a moment before bursting out laughing, "No, we're not dating, but thanks for the tip, mate. I'll keep that in mind."

Earnest smiled, "I'll catch you around, James. I've got to get to Charms."

James waved, "Bye Earnest." James walked away still smiling and chuckling to himself.

Remus and Peter appeared next to him. Remus asked, "What are you smiling to yourself about?"

James shook his head, "That kid was in the Hospital Wing with me last weekend, and he thinks Lily loves me because she brought me a couple of brownies."

Peter sighed, "I wish I had a girl bring me brownies…"

Remus glanced at Peter questioningly but responding to James, "Well she does seem to be warming up to you this year."

James smiled, "You think?"

Peter spoke up now, "Ye-yeah. She doesn't get annoyed as much either."

When James's eyes began to twinkle with possible ideas that involved him and Lily, Remus said sternly, "That doesn't mean you should go back to asking her to Hogsmeade every week."

"I know, I know," James sighed. "But she couldn't say no if I launched fireworks asking her, right?"

Remus responded with another stern look.

James held up his hands in surrender, "Just kidding, Moony!"

But the way James's eyes still twinkled made Remus think it was not a joke. There was probably millions of ideas exploding in James's head at the moment.

.:.

The school year really began to drone on after that. Classes became much longer than they already were, and the weather didn't help the matters. The first trips to Hogsmeade came, and very excited third years had already begun to lose their interest when the weather got worse.

The Weeping Willow had already had most of its leaves turn shades of yellow, orange or red, and the days got increasingly shorter. The walks late at night were unbearable without a good cloak, and even walking to classes was unpleasant when the winds became strong.

The squid in the Black Lake also seemed to be affected by the weather, as it didn't seem to bask in the sunlit waters or put its tentacles in the water when prodded. There were no more weekends spent outside, and instead they were spent in front of the fires in common rooms.

But one unfortunate weekend occurred before Halloween. It was the second game for the Gryffindors, and it was against Hufflepuff.

The Hufflepuff team had played the Ravenclaw team a couple of weeks ago and won. Their star player Amos Diggory was in his sixth year. He was considered to be the James Potter equivalent for the Hufflepuff team, and he was also a chaser. The captain was Charles Abbott, who was also a fantastic keeper.

On the morning of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game, James woke up two minutes before his alarm sounded. He smiled to himself and turned his alarm off. He stretched his arms, then his back. The various joints cracked as they usually do, and he sat up in his bed.

He stretched his toes and ankles before placing them on the cold ground. He sighed happily to himself.

Today was going to be another successful game for the Gryffindor team.

.:.

As Madam Hooch blew her whistle, the fourteen players kicked off the ground and began their wild chase.

Lily was sitting high in the stands next to Marlene and Mary. Peter and Remus were sitting in front of them, and Frank and Alice were sitting behind them. The weather was slightly windy and cool, but at least it wasn't going to frost over.

"Meadowes is the first to seize the quaffle, and Pips, the Hufflepuff beater, hits a bludger towards her. She dodges and makes a brilliant pass to her captain, Potter," the commentator's voice blared through the pitch.

"Potter catches it and attempts to make a goal, but nope, Abbott catches it." The Hufflepuffs began to cheer wildly while the Gryffindors boo-ed.

"Abbott tosses the quaffle to Diggory, and off he goes. Black hits the bludger in his direction, and Diggory swerves to avoid it! He makes his way to the hoops and tries to make a goal, but Pennifold is able to catch it!"

Lily sighed in relief while her friends around her cheered. She tried to watch the players as they flew through the air, but it was near impossible to tell which player was which.

The players dressed in blue and red zoomed around the field. The commentator observed the plays and players verbally, but Lily didn't understand most of the jargon. She knew the basics of Quidditch but had no clue what in Merlin's beard was a Porskoff Ploy.

"And the score is now thirty to ten with Gryffindor in the lead! Ravenclaw is now in possession of the quaffle," the announcer said with excitement in his voice. "Kirke makes her way down the pitch.

"Ouch! She's been struck by a nice bludger hit by Wood. She drops the quaffle, and Potter catches it! What's that? Kirke's still holding her shoulder awkwardly, and the Ravenclaw captain, Ackerley, calls for a time-out."

James turned around, quaffle in hand to see in fact Elena Kirke, the injured Ravenclaw chaser, was holding her shoulder awkwardly with her other hand. He flew up to her, "Do you need any help?"

She grimaced, "Could you steer my broom for me?"

"Sure, sure," he said quickly. He wedged the quaffle underneath his arm and grabbed her broom. He gently steered them to the ground, and once both their feet touched the ground, she turned to him.

"Thanks Potter," she said with a small smile on her face. "Maybe I'll have to forgive you for giving your beaters such good accuracy."

He laughed, "Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix you up in a jiffy, don't worry."

As James finished his sentence, the Ravenclaw captain, Eli Ackerley, touched down on the ground next to them, "Are you okay, Elena?"

"I can't finish the game, Eli. My shoulder is hurting too much. I'm sorry," she said with down-cast eyes.

James walked out of earshot by the time the Ravenclaw captain answered. He approached his team, who were huddling nearby.

Mason Wood spoke immediately, "Is she going to be okay?"

James nodded, "She'll be fine. It's just a shoulder injury that Madam Pomfrey will fix it up in no time."

He turned to the rest of his team, "All right guys, we may be ahead, and they may have one less player than us, but we can't afford to be cocky. Madam Hooch will no doubt give them penalty shots, so Olivia," he paused, "you'll need to be alert. Mason, as much as I know you didn't mean to hurt her, you need to back off a little bit for the rest of the game. We don't want to give the Ravenclaw team a reason to hate you.

"Let's finish this game nice and clean," he said with a smile. "Darcie, keep your eyes peeled for that snitch, and make sure you're clear from the bludgers."

At that, Madam Hooch blew her whistle to get back into the game. Freddie Tugwood, the announcer, had his voice amplified once again, "The time-out is now over, and Kirke is now out of the game. Madam Hooch awarded the Ravenclaw team two penalty shots, which will be taken by Eli Ackerley."

The players took to the air, and Lily watched anxiously from the stands. She watched as Eli Ackerley took his first shot, which Olivia Pennifold barely caught with her finger tips before it could enter the hoop.

The Gryffindor section went wild with cheers for their Keeper, and Ackerley was given the quaffle again. This time, unfortunately, she was unable to catch the quaffle before it went through the left post. It was the Ravenclaw section's turn to go wild for cheers for their captain.

"Ravenclaw scores!" Tugwood's voice boomed over the pitch. Lily sighed but clapped nonetheless. She and her other Gryffindor friends watched as the match progressed. After about another hour of plays, she noticed the players started to move sluggish, and the seekers moved around the pitch more anxiously.

She breathed into her hands and covered her nose. She was sure that her cheeks and nose were red from the cold. Students from the Slytherin and Hufflepuff houses had already left the game from lost interest and the cold.

The score was now one hundred and ten to seventy with Gryffindor in the lead. She watched Darcie, the Gryffindor seeker, flying around aimlessly looking for the elusive snitch.

At once, she took off straight up, chasing after something Lily's eyes couldn't catch. At the same moment, the Ravenclaw seeker, Penny Parkin, took off right after her.

They veered left and right, up and down after the pesky snitch. The students and teachers watched with anticipation the two seekers zooming around the pitch.

Below their wild goose chase, the other players continued their match but occasionally stole glances to above them.

Suddenly, Darcie dove straight down leaving the Ravenclaw seeker behind her. She kept her eyes trained on the snitch, which appeared to continue on its path straight down.

Penny Parkin, the Ravenclaw seeker, seemed to get more anxious as they approached the ground, and about fifteen feet above the ground, she turned her broom right back up.

Darcie followed after the snitch intently and pulling up her broom only a couple of feet from the ground. There were a couple of gasps from the audience, but there was no need. Darcie was still trailing only slightly after the snitch. She slowly reached her arm and grasped it.

The Gryffindor section went wild with cheers. The corresponding Ravenclaw section collectively sighed and groaned. Over the crowd, Freddie Tugwood's voice boomed over the pitch, "Gryffindor wins their second consecutive game with a final score of two-hundred-sixty points to seventy!"

Lily screamed alongside with the others, and the Ravenclaw students began to dejectedly make their way down the stands and back to the castle. Her group of friends was still yelling on the top of their lungs as the Quidditch players landed on the ground.

As the Gryffindor players landed, they surrounded Darcie and placed her on top of their shoulders. Remus said to Peter, "Let's hurry to the kitchens to get the party."

With that, the two of them left. Alice said, "This is going to be one hell of a party."

"I think Gryffindor has a good shot for the cup this year," Frank said. "That will be one hell of a party."

The group of friends laughed and began their walk to the castle. As they entered through the castle doors, Lily's ears and nose burned as they warmed up.

But Alice had been right; when they entered the Gryffindor common room, there was food and drinks (presumably some with alcohol in them). Only a few people had arrived yet, and Remus and Peter already back in the common room returning with food.

"How do you guys return with so much food so quickly?" Lily asked.

"We tell the House Elves the day before to make food for our party," Remus said.

"But what happens if you lose?" Marlene said appearing at Lily's elbow.

"We eat it!" Peter said excitedly.

"That's certainly not healthy," Lily reprimanded.

Peter shrugged, "We're teenage boys!"

At that moment, a large crowd of Gryffindors walked in the common room with a couple of others from the other three houses. Someone turned on the radio and the food was displayed out on a conjured table.

A few older year students began to dance with each other as the younger years giggled and separated by gender.

The Quidditch team entered the room very soon after. Everyone in the room began to applaud. James was the last one to enter, and he waved, "Let's get this party started!"

.:.

A couple of hours into the party, the group of sixth years Gryffindors grabbed seats on the couches to rest for a moment. Lily must have sat for thirty seconds before a seventh year by the name of Caradoc Dearborne approached the group.

Caradoc Dearborne was taller than the average Hogwarts student and had blonde hair that was messy in all the right places, "Hey guys."

The group greeted him in unison. He smiled and turned to Lily, "I was wondering if you would like to dance with me, Lily?"

"She just sat down, mate. Come back later," James answered for her while shooting daggers at Caradoc.

Lily smacked him in the arm before standing up, "I would love to, thank you."

James huffed and sat back in his seat. He watched as Lily and Caradoc walked to the other side of the common room holding hands. They began to dance and talk to one of the newest songs by Celestina Warbeck, and Lily started to laugh at something that he said.

With a sullen expression on his face, he turned to Remus, "What does he think he's playing at?"

Remus sighed, "Leave it, James. Lily isn't yours, and if you try to pretend she is, she'll hex you into tomorrow."

James sighed and glared at Remus, "I know. I just wish she was."

.:.

The trees soon lost their leaves after the Quidditch game. On the day of Halloween, the students' breaths could be seen. It had definitely been the coldest day of the school year yet, and Lily, of course, forgot her gloves and hat in her dormitory.

She mumbled something about her forgetfulness when she heard James's voice call out to her, "Oi, Evans!"

She turned around to see James with a wicked smile on his face coming towards her. "Yes, Potter?"

"Walk with me," he said excitedly offering her his arm.

"Why thank you, kind sir," she said. "Why are you so happy today?"

He shrugged, "Planning pranks with the Marauders went better than expected, and it's Halloween!"

They pushed the doors open, and Lily said, "Is there a prank for today?"

James shook his head, "No, but be careful around the holidays." With that, he winked at Lily and walked to the other side of the table to sit next to Sirius and Marlene.

"I always enjoy the Great Hall on Halloween," Marlene said as Lily sat down next to her.

Lily glanced up at the floating pumpkins and smiled. The first years were astonished at the number of candies available on the table, and many of them were already bouncing off the walls.

She also enjoyed Halloween at Hogwarts every year. She could relate to the surprise of the muggle borns when they walked into the Great Hall on their first Halloween. After the food disappeared, the ghosts broke out into telling their students the horrific details of their death.

Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had just turned a group of first years a pale green color. Lily smiled and remembered when he had told her and her friends the same exact story years ago.

Things have definitely changed since then. For starters, if Lily told her past self that she was sitting across from James Potter having a relatively civil conversation, she would have not believed it.

If she told her past self that Severus called her a mudblood… Lily wasn't sure whether or not she'd believe it. As soon as Severus became friends with the Slytherins, Lily became anxious that he would see her in a different light.

And according to that unfortunate day, Lily knew that he did.

**I'm so sorry that this hasn't been posted earlier, but honestly, my grandmother passed away soon after the previous chapter was written, and I didn't have the motivation to write this chapter. But on happier news, I'm officially a high school graduate!**

**Thanks to:**

**Gimarkley2013, dementorskiss xoxo, Anon, Alicesh, ItDidntMeanForever, DarlingILoveYou, Ellen Potter and Avieeeeee**

**And related to my spelling/grammar errors, my beta has disappeared, so I would like to find a possible temporary one. Is anyone interested?**

**Anddd, if you want me to read your story, tell me! I love when I read my reviewer's stories!**


	18. 18 Snowballs and Mistletoes

James leaves the Hospital Wing with no further complications, and he sees Earnest later in the hallway. While they were talking, Earnest lets James know that he thinks Lily likes James, and James gets excited of the possibilities but also promises Remus to not do anything rash. The second Quidditch game ended with another victory for the Gryffindor team. During the victory party, Caradoc Dearborne asks Lily to dance, which upsets James. Halloween comes up fast, and while they're at the feast, James warns Lily of an upcoming holiday prank.

Snowballs and Mistletoes

"_Nothing is permanent in this wicked world – not even our troubles." Charlie Chaplin_

Lily woke up a couple weeks after Halloween to see snow falling gently across the Hogwarts landscape. She quickly padded across the room and jumped onto Alice's bed.

As Alice jolted awake, Lily exclaimed, "Look Alice! It's the first snowfall!"

Alice roughly yanked the covers over her head and mumbled a string of swears into her pillow.

Lily sighed and jumped into the next bed, which happened to be Dorcas's. "Doras," Lily whined, "Wake up so we can go play in the snow."

She barely opened her eyes to glance out the window, "Evans, it's bloody eight in the morning on a Saturday."

She huffed, "But it's snowing outside!"

Dorcas sighed, "I'm not going to get away from you, am I?"

Lily bounced up and down, "Nope! Now go get dressed."

Dorcas groaned put her feet on the ground. Lily smiled and jumped over to Mary's bed next. "Mary! It snowed last night!"

Mary, who only feels comfortable sleeping on the edge of her bed, jerked awake. The sudden jerk caused her fall right out of her bed. Not moving from the ground, she grumbled, "Fuck off, Lily."

"You know you love me," Lily sang to her as she shook Marlene awake. Marlene had to be the most pleasant person to wake up in the morning. She opened her eyes slowly as soon as Lily placed a hand on her back. Instead of swearing at Lily like the majority of the others had, she rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Oh look, it's snowing," Marlene yawned.

Alice, Mary and Dorcas all glared at her. Alice mumbled, "We've heard."

Dorcas finished dressing and said to Lily, "How about we wake the blokes up?"

"Then we can have a real snow ball fight!" Lily's eyes lit up. She quickly rummaged through her clothes and ran into the bathroom. Within two minutes, she was out of the bathroom completely dressed and ready to go.

She bounded down the stairs like a puppy, and Alice said, "Merlin bless your soul, Dorcas."

Dorcas laughed and followed Lily down the stairs and back up to the boys' dormitory. Lily stood outside of their door for a moment and wrinkled her nose, "It smells like boy."

She nonetheless pushed open the door and glanced around the dark room. Dorcas stood in the doorway as Lily pushed open the curtains.

Remus was the first one to awaken from the light, "Who the bloody hell-?" He sat up suddenly, "Oh, hullo Lily."

"Good morning, Remus!" Lily chirped. "Look, it's snowing!"

"That's lovely," he replied as he covered his head with the covers.

Lily placed a hand on her hip, "Why is no one excited about the snow like I am?"

"Because it happens every year," Frank grumbled.

Lily sharply threw a pillow at his head.

.:.

Hours later, the group was finally leaving the castle with bellies full and their winter gear charmed to stay dry.

"Finally!" Lily exhaled. She ran out into the snow and twirled. James and Sirius exchanged one glance before suddenly breaking out into a snowball fight. One by one, the whole group was brought into the fight, and within five minutes, the enemy lines had been drawn.

Sirius and Dorcas ended up behind a large rock together, while Marlene, Frank and Peter were hiding behind a thicket of trees. Alice and Remus were scrambling to make a fort to cover themselves, and James and Lily were hiding out behind boulder.

"Evans! Make more of the ammunition!" James said.

"Aye captain!" she said packing snow together and handing it to James.

The throwing of snow continued, but as Sirius, Dorcas, Alice and Remus somehow called a truce and merged into a unified team, the main battle was between them and Marlene, Frank and Peter.

Lily and James were quickly forgotten as the snowball battle continued. James leaned his back on the stone and asked, "So why were to frantic to get out here?"

She looked at him for a moment before responding, "It's beautiful out here! Who doesn't love snow?"

James smiled, "It really is beautiful out here." His gaze was fixated on her.

Lily laughed and wanted to add something when she saw James's gaze was still on her. His eyes were intently trying to make contact with hers, but Lily looked away.

She felt her cheeks start to warm up in embarrassment and swore at them internally.

James shifted his weight towards her, "Do you know what else I think is beautiful?"

Her heart began to pound against her chest, and she felt herself unconsciously lean closer to him, "What?" She could count the tiny snowflakes that were somehow caught on his eyelashes.

A snowball whizzed between them, missing them by mere centimeters. This snapped them both of the daze, and they looked over to see somehow a change of teams with Marlene and Sirius on one side, Frank and Dorcas on the other, and Peter was running back to the castle with snowballs magically bouncing on his head repeatedly.

"Oi, Evans! Get back to making those snowballs," James smiled.

Lily smiled, but internally she was wondering what the bloody hell that could have been about…

.:.

Weeks passed with mounding homework and snow. Finally, the last week before Christmas vacation came, and the Marauders were finalizing their last details for their prank.

They planned it for the last day of classes before most of the Hogwarts population would leave for their Christmas vacation. The Thursday night as most of the Marauders ran around the castle setting it up for next day, Lily and Remus were walking on patrol.

Lily, who was unaware of the prank that was going to happen the next day, heard footsteps around a corridor. "We better get those dumb first years back to their common room," she said following the footsteps.

Remus grabbed her wrist, "You really don't want to head down that hallway, Lily."

She turned around with confusion clear on her face, "What? Are the tiny first years going to jump me or something? Cast me with their _wingardium leviosa_'s?"

Remus laughed, "Unless you want to be a guinea pig for a Marauder prank, you shouldn't head down there."

Lily placed her hands on her hips, "A prank? Can you at least tell me what it is?"

"Don't walk in the hallways with someone you wouldn't mind a lip lock with is my only suggestion," he said mysteriously and headed in the opposite direction.

.:.

Lily walked down her dormitory stairs cautiously the next morning. She wasn't able to get any further clues from Remus for the rest of the patrol, and so she walked cautiously down the stairs.

James Potter was waiting by the portrait hole with his hands in his pockets staring into space. "What are you doing, Potter?"

"Nothing," he said with a smile on his face, "I figured it would be nice for us to walk to breakfast together."

She crossed her arms but still had a smile on her face, "This is completely unrelated to the prank that Remus warned me about yesterday?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, "Uh, of course not."

She smiled and adjusted her bag on her shoulder, "Good. Let's go then."

A smile spread on his face, and he opened the portrait and gestured her to go first, "My good lady."

"Thank you, kind sir," she replied as she climbed through. James climbed out after her, and they began walking. A couple of yards ahead of them, there was a crowd forming chanting something Lily couldn't make out.

As they approached the group of people, Lily noticed James was attempting to hide a smile off his face. She minded Remus's advice and kept her distance from him. Getting closer, Lily was able to hear the group chanting, "Kiss! Kiss!"

She could see that two mortified younger years were rooted to the spot. "Why can't they move?" she asked James.

He pointed to the ceiling, where there was a mistletoe hanging. "It's enchanted, and if two people both walk underneath it, they're stuck there until they kiss."

"James!" she exclaimed, "That's terrible!"

He shrugged, "It's livens the mood I think."

"Is there any loopholes around it?" she asked.

"Nope," he answered cheerfully, "but the charm doesn't work on teachers. We didn't want even the chance of that happening."

She shuddered, and the two people awkwardly kissed, the crowd started cheering and clapping. They all dispersed and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Lily and James walked slowly together.

Lily kept her distance from him though, and her eyes were trained to find and avoid any other mistletoes. They talked easily about things that were going on around the school.

"Are you going to Alice's Christmas party?" James asked nonchalantly.

Lily shrugged, "Most likely. Did she invite all you Marauders too?"

James nodded, "Yeah, but then you'll have to come to my New Year's party."

She smiled, "Oh really? I'll have to then?"

He nodded very seriously, "Yes, you _have_ to."

"Huh, so now I'm going to one of the infamous Marauder parties?" Lily asked seriously, "What shall I wear?"

He shrugged, "You could always come naked. I won't mind."

They both laughed, and Lily pushed him away playfully. The people in front of them found themselves rooted to the spot, and it only reminded Lily she needed to keep an eye out.

"So who else is coming to your party?" Lily asked trying to get the conversation going.

He ran his fingers through his hair, "Let's see… Me, you, and anyone else who shows up." He flashed a smile to her.

"Prat," she said but still returned the smile.

They arrived in the Great Hall, where most of the students that were already up were talking about the enchanted mistletoes that were mysteriously set up around the school overnight.

James glanced over at Professor Dumbledore, and the professor winked ever so slightly. James grinned and lowered his eyes.

.:.

Through out the day, nearly everyone had gotten stuck underneath the mistletoes at least once. Sirius and Marlene happily shared a kiss; Mary and Remus good-naturedly kissed, and James and Dorcas were surprised to find themselves stuck in the third corridor and platonically kissed. Peter got stuck with a pleasant-looking Hufflepuff named May Benson. Alice and

Lily was the only one left that had not been stuck under the mistletoe, and her friends were determined to change that.

After dinner, Lily carefully left the Great Hall. Her and her friends were walking back up to the dorms to pack and ready to leave for tomorrow morning for their Christmas break. She let her guard down for a second as she heard someone from behind call her name.

"Lily!" someone called out behind her.

As she turned to look, Mary hip-bumped her to the left, and it was just as a group of seventh year Gryffindors were passing them. Instead of being able to shoot a death glare at her and hip-bump her back, she found herself rooted to the spot with one the seventh-year Gryffindor named Caradoc Dearborne.

"Oh, hello Caradoc," Lily said meeting his look.

He looked just as surprised to find himself stuck to the floor but answered, "Hello, Lily. I suppose we'll have to kiss then?"

She tucked her hair around her ear, "I suppose so."

He leaned forward, and Lily closed her eyes. The kiss was just a quick peck, but it still somehow still was sweet.

They both pulled back and smiled. "I'll see you around then, okay Lily?" he said catching up with his friends.

"Yeah, sure!" she called out.

James came up behind her, "You forgot your quill, Evans."

She turned around, "Oh, thank you." She picked it up from his hand and placed it in her bag. She looked at James and saw his jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" she asked laughing.

"I don't like Caradoc Dearborne," he said staring as Caradoc and his friends walking away.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Why is it different for me? Everyone's been kissed today, thanks to your ingenious mistletoes."

"He asked you to dance at the last holiday party too!" he said. "Wait did you just call my mistletoes ingenious?"

She started walking away, "What?"

"Did you just call my mistletoes ingenious?" he said trying to catch up with her.

"What?" This time he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Lily Evans, you're so bloody difficult," he said to himself smiling.

.:.

Later that night, Lily Evans was lying in her bed. Her whole trunk was ready to go for tomorrow morning, and she was rather excited to go home. She missed her mum and dad, and most of all, her mum's cooking.

She fell asleep thinking about her mum's delicious Christmas turkey and Sheppard's pie…

Lily lugged her trunk behind her as she walked downstairs. There wasn't a single soul in the common room except one.

James Potter was standing in front of the fire staring at it intensely. Without even turning around, he said, "I've been waiting for you, Lily."

Her eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I've been meaning to tell you something. Come over here for a second," he said while turning around.

She put her trunk down quietly, "Are you feeling okay, Potter?"

Instead of answering, he gestured her to come closer. She stood about two feet away from him. "C'mon," he laughed, "I won't bite."

She took another step closer to him. She could see the tiny flecks of gold and green in his eyes. "That's better," he said. She didn't know what else to say, so she didn't answer.

"Y'know," he continued and put a lock of her hair behind her ear, "it drove me crazy when Dearborne kissed you yesterday."

She laughed, "It meant nothing." Lily had no clue what she meant by what just came out of her mouth, but it made James smile.

"Good," he said still smiling, "because there's something I want to tell you: I still fancy you, Lily Evans. And when I saw you kiss Dearborne yesterday and when you danced with him at the party, it reminded me how much. I don't want you to kiss other guys under the mistletoe; I want you just to kiss me."

He reached to touch the side of her face gently and slid down to her chin. Lifting her chin softly, he looked at her for permission. Something in her eyes must have given it to him because he leaned forward ever so slightly.

Lily closed her eyes and felt his lips meet hers. His one hand left her chin to place it on the small of her back. The other one rested on her hip. Lily moved her hands to sit on top of his shoulders. Her skin tingled where his hands were.

They broke apart for a moment, and James laughed in deep in his throat. He leaned forward again, and she melted into his arms.

This time the kiss was more passionate than sweet, and it gave Lily butterflies in her stomach. His tongue was quick to ask for entry, and who was she to decline?

He swiftly explored her mouth, and Lily initiated a form of tongue wrestling. She could tell that he was smiling, and she smiled in response. He untangled himself from her for a moment, and Lily opened her eyes in confusion.

He swiftly picked her up and laid her down on the sofa in front of the fire. He began to trail kisses from her collar bone and slowly made his way up to her neck. He stopped at the top of her neck and began to suck on it.

She inhaled sharply, and he murmured, "Wake up, Lily."

"What?" she asked.

"It's time to get up, Lily! Do you want to miss the train?" Mary said placing her hands on her hips about a foot away from them.

Lily gasped and sat up in her bed. _It was a dream_, she told herself.

"Well?" Mary asked tapping her foot now.

"Sorry!" Lily said. "I'm up!" She stood up quickly and ran into the bathroom grabbing her clothes to quickly get dressed.

As she slipped her blouse over her head, she wondered about her dream. _Why in Merlin's beard did my mind want to dream about that? Why didn't my dream self try to stop him?_

She pulled up her muggle jeans and buttoned them, and she threw her hair in a ponytail. Grabbing her clothes, she ran out of the bathroom.

"Two minutes and forty seven seconds," Mary said. "That might be a Lily Evans record. Now let's get downstairs."

Lily dragged her trunk behind her and hoped it wouldn't be like her dream. Hopefully James wouldn't be in the common room ready to…snog…

She pulled her trunk down the last step, and she looked around the common room. The Universe must have been plotting against her because the only person left in the common room was James Potter staring intently into the fire identical to Lily's dream.

She dropped her trunk on the ground by accident, and it made everyone in the room jump.

"Oops, sorry," she mumbled. She went to tuck her hair behind her hair and realized her hair was in a ponytail.

"It's okay," he laughed.

Mary yelled out, "Let's go guys! I'm not missing the train!"

Lily hurriedly picked up her trunk just as James went to pick it up himself. Their hands met for a moment, and Lily yelped like small dog.

"Are you okay? I was just going to carry your trunk for you so we're not late," he said grabbing the handle.

"Oh, okay, thank you," Lily said blushing.

"No problem," he said, "but are you feeling okay?"

She laughed awkwardly, "Just woke up on the hectic side of the bed."

They quickly hurried out of the common room and down the stairs, and Mary was a full floor below them hurrying as well.

"So why were you waiting in the common room?" she asked trying to make conversation.

He shrugged, "Well you weren't downstairs yet, so I figured there was something wrong."

"Oh…" she trailed off awkwardly, "That's awfully nice of you."

"Thanks," he replied.

They walked in silence when James spoke up again, "Your friends also said that they couldn't wake you up for some reason, and that happens to me when I have a really awesome dream."

Lily started blushing again, "It was more bizarre than awesome."

"Really? What was it about?" James asked interested.

She blushed even more, "Oh nothing."

James broke into a huge smile, "Oh, did Evans have a dirty dream?"

She told her cheeks to stop blushing, but they did the opposite. Her face probably matched her hair.

"You did!" he exclaimed. "With who? Caradoc Dearborne? Remus? Mary or Alice?"

"James!" she cried. "Stop it! I did not have a lesbian sex dream!"

He smiled and held one of his hands in surrender, "Just wondering! So was it Caradoc Dearborne?"

Lily shook her head, "No, but I'm not going to tell you!"

James tried to hide a smile, "So am I just going to have to wonder for the rest of my life?"

Lily laughed and dismissed the thought with her hand, "It's really not that important."

James rolled his eyes, "Unless you want me to bring it up in front of everyone, you best tell me before we get all the way downstairs!"

"You wouldn't!" she exclaimed.

James shot her an incredulous look, "I wouldn't? Would you like to bet on that?"

She huffed and tried to think of a way out of it, but the way James's eyes twinkled made her think he was not bluffing.

"Just tell me who it is!" he pleaded.

She wracked her brain and came up with a solution that was absolutely crazy, but it could have been crazy enough to work. "What if," she trailed, "instead of telling you who was in my dream, I could..."

While she debated herself whether or not she was crazy, James interrupted her, "What? You could do what?"

"Do you have a midnight kiss for New Year's?" Lily asked biting her lip.

"What?" James choked out.

"I will be your midnight kiss if you keep your big mouth shut," Lily restated simply still unsure of her plan.

"Sheesh Evans," James said rubbing the back of neck, "I should blackmail you more often."

"Is that an agreement?" she said hoping her plan wouldn't blow up in her face.

He stuck his hand out, "Shake on it?"

She shook his hand and smiled.

"Ah, now Evans, I don't like that smile. What evil plan did I just shake on?" James said smiling at her.

"Shush, we better hurry so we don't miss the train," she said instead of answering his question.

**It feels weird to be talking about snow and the holidays in the heat of summer, but I hope you guys don't mind. I apologize for uploading so late again, but I had yet another death in the family—my cat. She was seventeen years old (so a year younger than me), and we had to put her sleep a couple of weeks ago. I've already started writing the next chapter, so I really hope it won't take me as long.**

**Thanks to:**

**AKToad, jg13145, dementorskiss xoxo, ItDidntMeanForever, Ellen Potter, Potter's New Girlfriend and Rosebetweentwothorns.**

**P.S. I'm still looking for a beta to proof-read my stuff that isn't terribly busy!**

**P.P.S. I keep forgetting to tell you guys to add me on Pottermore! My username is GoldSparks9618!**


	19. 19 Christmas and Eggnog

It's the end of the term for the Hogwarts students, and Lily had a …strange dream about James Potter. When he found out that she had such dream, James threatened to tell the others, but instead Lily made a deal to be his date for his New Year's Party.

Christmas and Eggnog

"_I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."_

_Marilyn Monroe_

Lily and James caught the last carriage down to Hogsmeade and hopped on the train as it was leaving the platform. As they sat down in the compartment with the rest of their friends, Lily wondered if her plan was just down-right insane.

As the landscapes flew by, the group spent most of their time playing Gobstones and joking with each other. Before they knew it, they were arriving into King's Cross and getting ready to see their families.

Lily's parents were picking her up outside of the platform, but most of her other friends were apparating to their homes. Lily offered her parents to apparate home, but they still insisted picking her up.

As everyone poured out of the train, Lily looked around the platform. Many of the students had already found their parents, and Lily recognized a familiar face – Mrs. Potter. Once they made eye contact, Lily made her way over to her.

"Lily dear!" she exclaimed. "How are you doing?"

She smiled, "Good, this term flew by so quickly. How have you been?"

Mrs. Potter placed her hand on Lily's arm, "Good, good! Mr. Potter is still swamped with work of course, and I really wish he would take a break."

James came up behind Lily, "He never takes a break; you know that!"

She sighed, "I know. Lily, I hope my son has been too ignorant to invite you to our New Year's party…"

Lily laughed, "No, I'll be there!"

"Good!" she said smiling, "I'm sorry to say, but we must be going. I look forward to seeing to you then. Bye Lily dear!"

"Bye, Mrs. Potter!" she said.

Mrs. Potter turned on the spot and apparated.

"I'll take that as I should get home too," James said staring at the spot where his mother disappeared.

Lily laughed, "Bye Potter. I'll see you at Alice's for Christmas."

He laughed, "Bye Evans." He awkwardly stood there for a moment, and it seemed like he was debating whether or not to speak, but instead, he just waved and apparated like his mum.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows but shrugged it off. Grabbing her trunk, she headed to her parents, who were of course waiting for her.

"Lily!" her mum cried. She hurried up to her parents and hugged both of them.

"How was your first term?" her dad asked picking up her trunk for her.

"Great! It really flew by," she said.

They smiled and walked back to the car. Her dad placed her trunk in the back of the car, and Lily climbed into the car.

She let her thoughts run as the snow-filled streets sped by. This term had really flown by. Thinking back to September when she nearly refused the company of Sirius and James. Now she felt relatively close to both of them. And speaking of James…

Why could she not get her mind off of that dream?

.:.

The first week of Christmas break flew by in the Evan's house. Lily and Petunia didn't have too many disagreements or even interactions, which suited them both. Her parents took the weeks off to enjoy their daughter's company.

Christmas morning, Lily woke up at ten in the morning. Padding across her house, she peeked into her kitchen. Her parents were drinking their morning tea while sharing the newspaper.

"Merry Christmas," she mumbled and sat across the table.

"Merry Christmas, Lily," they replied in unison.

Her mum said, "Petunia's in the shower, so when she gets out, we'll open the presents. Would you like some breakfast?"

Lily nodded sleepily, "Tea and toast please."

Her mum pushed her chair back and prepared her breakfast. Her dad passed her the comics with a smile, "Petunia never reads the comics."

Lily smiled and began reading the comics. She read about half of the page when her mum placed her food in front of her. She mumbled her thanks and proceeded to eat and read the comics.

As she finished her breakfast, Petunia's steps could be heard going down the stairs. As she entered the kitchen, she said, "Nice to see Sleeping Beauty up."

Lily rolled her eyes but didn't bother answering. Their father rubbed together his hands, "Time for Christmas presents!"

They moved into the living room, and Lily and Petunia sat next to the tree across from each other. Her parents sat on the couch next to them.

There was a pile of presents with green wrapping paper that was designated for Lily, and another pile of red presents for Petunia. The other mismatched presents belonged to their parents.

As everyone opened their presents, Lily was pleased to find some new clothes and other miscellaneous items. There was one last present that was significantly smaller than the rest. As she opened it, she discovered it was a velvet box.

Opening it carefully, she found an expensive-looking set of earrings. They were circular cut diamonds set in gold. She smiled at her parents, "I love them!"

Her mum smiled, "I knew you would."

Lily placed the box carefully on the table, and she dug out her presents for her parents. She looked at them expectantly, "Open them!"

Lily's dad opened his present to find a book titled A History on Magical Creatures. Before Lily's magic was even discovered, Mr. Evans loved reading fantasy books, and now he loved to read the actual non-fiction books Lily could find.

Her mum opened her present to find a clear ball filled with opaque fog. She looked at Lily in confusion.

"It's a Remembrall," she explained. "The fog in there turns red when you forget something!"

"Oh, that'll come in handy when I'm cooking. Thank you Lily-dear!" she said carefully examining it.

After sitting with her family for a while, Lily decided to start getting ready for Alice's Christmas party. Dismissing herself, she quickly ran upstairs to shower.

A half hour later, Lily stepped out of the steamy bathroom and walked into her room. She looked in her trunk for something to wear. After half of her clothes were thrown across her room, she decided on a light pink dress with a sweetheart neckline that was barely above the knee paired with a dark green sweater.

Putting in the earrings she was just given, she returned to the bathroom to apply her very small amount of make-up. Using her wand, she instantly dried her hair into soft curls.

With fifteen minutes to spare, she packed her clutch with her wand, back-up make-up and some money (magical and muggle). She walked out of her room and went down the stairs back to the living room.

Her parents had hardly moved, but Petunia was now gone. "Petunia's at her boyfriend's house," her dad explained warily.

Lily inwardly rolled her eyes but said, "I'm just going to grab my friend's presents, and then I'm off to Alice's."

"What time will you be back?" her mum asked.

Lily shrugged, "Before midnight. Do you want me to check in with you?"

"I'll be up until midnight, but if for some reason you want to stay longer, check in with me," her mum answered.

Lily smiled, "You're the best mum ever, you know that?" She bent over and kissed her parents good-bye.

Grabbing some floo powder from a vase above the fireplace, she threw it into her fireplace, "827 Merlin's Place!"

She felt like usual squeeze like she was being pushed through a tube. Before she could start to feel claustrophobic, she felt her feet land in Alice's fireplace.

Taking a step cautiously, she looked around Alice's living room. Mary and Alice were standing a couple feet away taking to the seventh year Gryffindors, Caradoc Dearborne and Benjy Fenwick. The fireplace flashed green behind her, and it was Marlene.

"Lily!" Alice said behind her, "You look so pretty!"

Lily surveyed Alice's outfit. She was wearing a red sweater dress paired with black heels, "Me? You look so much prettier!"

She waved her hand to dismiss it, "And look at Marlene and Mary, how I've missed all of you!" Her words were slightly slurred and tone way too excited.

Marlene looked at her suspiciously, "Are you okay, Alice?"

"Maybe I already had eggnog or two. It's nothing!" Alice exclaimed, emphasizing the last word.

Lily exchanged looks with Mary and Marlene, who both had raised eyebrows.

Benjy Finwick and Caradoc Dearborne joined their conversation when Benjy said, "Alice has been raving to us how awesome her mother's eggnog is since we got here."

Alice smiled, "It is so awesome! Would anyone like some?"

They all politely declined, but Alice refused to take no as an answer. Disappearing for a moment and promising to come back with eggnog for everyone. The fireplace glowed green for a moment before Remus Lupin stepped out.

The group mumbled their hello's, and Alice returned with eggnogs for everyone, "Oh hello Remus! Would you like one of my mother's lovely eggnog's?"

He smiled and took one, "Thank you Alice."

As she handed out the rest of the drinks to everyone, Remus politely took a sip of his, "Wow, it actually is good."

Alice slurred slightly, "See? They all think I'm crazy!"

Frank and Peter entered the room and weaved his way through the adults. Alice saw Frank and jumped up into his arms.

"Frank!" she exclaimed mid-jump.

Frank replied with an oomph as he barely caught her. He swung her around in a circle and placed her back on the ground.

Alice giggled, "Hi Peter! I'll go get eggnog for you too!"

As Alice disappeared once again, James appeared from the fireplace in a flash of green. As soon as he stepped out, the fireplace flashed again and out stepped Sirius.

Alice appeared with a tray of eggnogs, "All my friends are here now!" She placed the tray on a table and hugged both of them at the same time. James and Sirius looked down at her concerned and slightly confused.

"Now we open presents!" Alice squealed. "Everyone get ready!"

The group previously agreed on having a secret Santa way of giving presents this year, which means everyone in the group was given a slip of paper with another person's name on it, and they would be responsible for getting a present for the person on the slip.

Lily took her present for Remus and placed it in middle. It was joined with many other colorful presents from everyone else in the group. Of course, she couldn't help but wonder which one would be hers.

As all of her friends added to the pile of presents, they sat down in a circle around them. Alice, who took herself to be ringleader of the day, began to hand out the presents.

"Now before anyone opens theirs, we need to wait until everyone gets one," she explained very seriously. She leaned over to the pile of presents and tossed them to the respectful receiver. Lily barely caught a green small present with mistletoes covering the wrapping paper.

"We'll go in a circle starting with me!" Alice squealed as she began to rip open her present. Inside she found various pairs of socks with different designs on each, some with wands, others with jellybeans and from what Lily could see, there was even one with trolls on them.

"You can never have enough socks!" Alice said genuinely. "Now, who would give me socks as a present? Was it Sirius?" When Sirius shook his head smiling, she guessed again, "Peter! It was Peter!"

Peter nodded sheepishly, "Did you see the one with the trolls?"

Lily held in a grin as Alice gushed how she loved her new socks. Next in the circle was Frank, who began to carefully open his present. Inside he found a book titled Plants in South America. Frank's face lit up, "Now there's only one person who shares my love of Herbology, Alice?"  
She nodded, "I got one for myself too! Accio book!"

A book came zooming around the corner, barely missing people at it flew into the back of Sirius's head before Alice caught it.

Sirius muttered a string of swears under his breath unheard by Alice.

"Next one!" she shouted.

The rest of the group eventually unwrapped their presents with gracious thanks and excited squeals. Lily was the last one to open her present, and she gently removed the green wrapping paper.

Underneath the paper was a rather small black rectangular box. She lifted the top of the box and inside there was a silver bobby pin with a delicate flower decorating the top of the pin. The center of the flower was a clear stone surrounded with green stones as the petals.

She looked around the group in amazement. Everyone had been revealed except for one – Potter. She looked at him, "Potter? Do you really have the ability to buy a nice present?"  
He smiled, "Always the real charmer, Evans!"

She laughed, "Well thanks I guess. Who knew you weren't terrible at finding presents?"

As the rest of the group realized the present-opening was done, they began to talk about their holidays. As everyone else was distracted in different conversations, James turned to Lily, "So Evans, how was your Christmas?"

He seemed jittery and weirdly anxious, but Lily didn't comment on it, "It was pretty nice. My sister and I nearly went all morning without arguing."

James smiled, "I've never had an actual sibling, so I can't relate, but Sirius managed to open half of my presents this morning."

Lily laughed and thought if Potter had a sibling of some sort. She inwardly shuddered and thanked Merlin that he didn't have one.

Suddenly James turned to Lily again, "Is your sister as pretty as you then?"

Lily almost spit out her eggnog, maybe because Petunia definitely had some horse-like features or maybe because Potter just called her pretty. And it wasn't as rude or creepy as his usual "compliments".

"If you're asking if she looks like me, I would have to say no," Lily said measuredly. "She's tall and blonde though if you're interested."

James ran his fingers through his hair, "No, I figure I'm not much a fan of blonde." He paused, and it seemed like he was debating whether or not to say something else. When he didn't, Lily was glad Sirius butt into the conversation.

"Tall and blonde?" he perked up.

Marlene smacked him in the chest playfully and announced, "I'm off to get more eggnog. Does anyone need a refill?"

Alice, who was draped across Frank's lap, was too busy tapping his nose to hear Alice.

She does not need another one," Frank mouthed.

Marlene smiled and nodded, "Sirius? James? Lils?"

Sirius and James shook their heads, but Lily stood up, "I'll get another one, but I'll come with."

As they made their way across the room, they were intercepted by Benjy and Caradoc.

"Hey girls," Benjy said. "Care to join us for a drink?"

Marlene looked at Lily and shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

As the two boys turned to get drinks, Lily turned to Marlene, "Won't Sirius be upset?"

Marlene sighed, "Probably, but I think we're going to break up soon."

This was news to Lily, "For what reason?"

Marlene shrugged, "it's just-."

Benjy and Caradoc appeared again with drinks, so Lily would have to get an answer from her later.

"So are you girls heading to Potter's party in a couple days?" Benjy asked.

"Of course," Marlene answered for the both of them.

An agitated Sirius came over to them, "What are you guys doing over here?" his tone went meant to sound joking, but it came out angrily. He added, "Come join the rest of us!"

Lily shot Marlene a look, but Marlene didn't respond.

Lily and Caradoc trailed behind slowly. He spoke up, "So I was thinking, Lily, since we're both going to Potter's party?"

"Yes?" Lily asked.

He smiled shyly, "Maybe you could save me a dance?"

Lily returned a smile back, "Sure, that sounds great!"

Caradoc's smile changed from shy to delighted, "Great, great."

James shouted out, "Don't hog Evans, Dearborne!"

Lily suppressed an eye roll but joined the group back in the circle.

After hours of joking and talking, the party simmered down. Alice had fallen asleep about an hour ago and was now snoring in Frank's lap.

Frank was the first one to get up to leave, "I better put this one to bed and get to bed myself." He picked up Alice, careful to not wake her, and left.

Slowly, the rest of the party left, and Lily decided it was her time to leave too. She stood up and announced, "I better get home. I'll see you guys in a couple days for New Year's."

Her remaining friends mumbled their bye's, but Caradoc stood up too, "I better get going too. Happy Christmas everyone."

Together they walked down the hallway and to the fireplace, but before they could get there, Caradoc turned to Lily and grabbed her hand.

She turned towards him surprised and confused. But through her confusion, she heard footsteps approach them. Caradoc heard the footsteps as well and dropped her hand. James Potter came around the corner, and Lily heard Caradoc mutter something along the lines of, "For Godric's sake."

James looked at their closeness and narrowed his eyes, "I thought you two were leaving."

Caradoc replied sharply, "We were. I was just talking to Lily for a moment."

James responded coldly, "Well you'll see her in a couple days. Couldn't it wait until then?"

Caradoc sighed, "Look, Potter, could you give us some privacy?"

"What if I need to talk to Lily?" James demanded. "Could I get a moment with her?"

"I think you've had enough time with her earlier. Why didn't you talk to her then?" Caradoc demanded.

"Look here, Dearborne-," James started.

Lily spoke up, "Look guys, I'm going. I need to get home, so I'll let you guys talk to each other."

She walked towards the fireplace and reached into the pot of floo powder, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw James and Caradoc staring each other down. She threw in the powder down forcefully and muttered her address.

She couldn't explain her sudden anger. Maybe it was at Potter for interrupting her, or maybe it could be at Caradoc for being so rude to James.

She sighed. She didn't want to think about this anymore. Her parents were sitting in the kitchen drinking tea when she walked in, "I'm back."

"How was your party?" her mum asked.

"Good," she answered, "it was nice to see everyone out of school."

"What did you get for your Secret Santa then?" her dad asked.

"This really pretty hair pin," Lily said. With a realization, she realized she left James's present at Alice's house. She sighed, "I left it at Alice's house though, so I'll send her an owl tomorrow."

"Okay, now you're safely home, we're heading to bed," her mum said standing up and rinsing out the tea cups.

"Good night. Love you," Lily said. She slowly treaded up the stairs and changed. Lying in bed, she wondered what could be going on her mind. Caradoc wanted to talk to her away from everyone. Did that mean he fancied her? Or did he just want to talk?

If he fancied her, did she fancy him back?

Lily didn't know any of the answers to her own questions. She didn't even want to start thinking about James. He was bloody confusing.

The beginning of the night, he had gotten her a really good present that she really liked, and even called her pretty in some weird, maybe accidental way. But then he proceeded to be a prick to Caradoc.

She rolled over in her bed and sighed. Lily really just wanted to get some sleep.

**So I know this is obnoxiously long overdue, but in my defense, this is the I just started college. Well, by saying just starting I mean I'm almost done with my first semester. Really don't have too much free time anymore though. I'm going to make myself write another chapter before the end of December though.**

**Thanks to (as always):  
jg13145, Guest, JessAndDarcy, dementorskiss xoxo, GoneOnAnAdventure, wink2dac and Guest Numero 2!**


	20. 20 New Year, New Beginnings

After leaving the Christmas party with Caradoc and James arguing with each other, Lily isn't sure she wants to see either of them. But New Year's comes up, and so does James Potter's party. Lily's deal to kiss Potter at midnight is not bound to be forgotten.

New Year, New Beginnings

"_At eighteen, our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five, they are caves in which we hide."_

_F. Scott Fitzgerald _

Lily leaned closer to the mirror as she applied her make-up. Usually, she just put on some cover-up and occasionally mascara. But tonight she was heading to the Potter's New Year party.

Her mum popped her head into the bathroom, "Lily, are you decent? Can I come in?"

"Yeah sure, Mum," Lily said. "Come on in."

Mrs. Evans walked in the bathroom dressed in a very flattering and elegant dress. She walked behind her daughter and placed her chin on Lily's shoulder, "You look so grown-up and beautiful, Lily-dear."

She smiled, "Thank you, Mother-dear. You also look stunning in that dress."

Her mum lifted her head off her shoulder, "We're leaving now. I'll see you tomorrow. Be safe; have fun. If you need me, you have the Jacobsen's number."

"I'll be safe. Love you," Lily said turning around and hugging her mum.

"Love you too," her mum replied.

Lily heard the click of her mother's heels go down the stairs and out the front door. Once she finished her make-up, Lily left the bathroom and dropped her robe to put on her dress she bought a couple of weeks ago. It was a gold dress with three quarter length bell bottom sleeves.

Zipping it up, she walked back into the bathroom where she put her earrings in. She wanted to put her clip that Potter had bou ght her, but Alice said she couldn't find it anywhere in the house.

Lily hoped that one of her other friends accidently took off with it and would bring it with them tonight.

She glanced at the clock; she already was two minutes late. Hurrying back to her room, she grabbed the same clutch she used last week with everything she needed for the night. She rushed back downstairs. She slipped on her black heels and went into her living room.

Lily stopped in front of the mirror and peeked a quick look at herself. No make-up smudged, and her hair was in place. Check and check. She grabbed some floo powder and stepped into her fireplace.

She felt her feet land on another fireplace, and disoriented, she walked out. A man dressed in a tuxedo offered her his hand. She took it gratefully and continued walking. She glanced around the room she was in with amazement.

The room was decorated beautifully. Much of the furniture was probably older than Lily's grandparents, but it had graced with the test of time.

The foyer held a breath-taking chandelier making light dance across the room. The one and only James Potter came bounding down the beautiful wooden staircase with Sirius trailing behind him.

He nearly walked into her without noticing who she was, "Oh, sorry miss – oh, Lily! Wow, you look– Sorry, can't talk now." He started walking backwards to still talk to her, "But I'll see you in like fifteen minutes, sound good?"

Sirius whistled, "Damn, Lily. You look good!"

Lily smacked his arm jokingly, "You better hope Marlene didn't hear that!"

Sirius smirk disappeared, "Lily, we broke up. Didn't Marlene tell you?"

She shook her head, "No, she didn't send me an owl."

"Oh, well," Sirius rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess it leaves me free to compliment pretty birds like you!"

Lily laughed, "But you're okay?"

Sirius dismissed her question with his hand, "You can't force what's not there, and it obviously wasn't there."

"Lily! You look gorgeous!" Mary's voice came from behind her.

Sirius waved good-bye and disappeared into the party.

Mary scurried as quickly as she could with her heels on, "I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks!"

"Mary, it's only been a couple of days," Lily said. "But let me tell you something: did you know that Marly and Sirius broke up?"

"Really? When did she tell you?" Mary said quietly.

"Oh my Merlin," Marlene's voice came from behind them. "You two look magnificent!"

The three of them hugged briefly, and Lily spoke quickly after, "So, I talked to Sirius…"

Her smile faltered, "I'm so sorry for not telling you guys. I wanted to send an owl, but it just seemed impersonal."

"Why did you two decide to end it?" Mary asked.

Marlene shrugged, "It just felt forced. He was getting unnecessarily jealous, and I was getting unnecessarily annoyed. It was best to end it." She breathed in dramatically, "But that's in the past now. Who wants to just get completely wasted with me?"

Alice, who had yet to announce herself, shouted from the background, "ME!"

Dorcas came trailing behind her, "Let's not fall asleep before ten this time."

"Oh hush, Dorcas," Alice said.

They trailed each other into the party. There were several groups of elder wizards and witches in groups chatting and drinking. Lily spotted a couple of wizards and witches from school and then a couple of familiar faces.

"Hey girls!" Benjy said wrapping his arms around Marlene's and Lily's waists.

"Pretty girls," Caradoc added on hanging his arms around Alice, Mary and Dorcas.

"Hey, who has their arm around my date?" Frank said as spinning Alice.

"Frank!" Alice exclaimed, "You've got to see who is here! Do you remember my cousin Emmaline? Emmaline Vance?" She dragged him away to another part of the room.

Sirius and Remus walked over to the group. Remus smiled at everyone, "Happy New Year's Eve everyone!"

Marlene and Sirius made slight eye contact, and Marlene stiffened up and looked around the room, "Oh look, Dorcas, it's Cassidy from Ravenclaw. Let's go say hi."

"But we never-," Dorcas said as Marlene pulled her away.

Sirius looked at the ground while Remus clasped his shoulder, "Who wants to get this started?"

Benjy clapped and looked at his watch, "We have two hours before midnight. That means two hours to get smashed!"

"Did someone say smashed?" James Potter appeared with two bottles.

There was a chorus of affirmative responses, and James nicked a plate of glasses from a passing server.

Lily was handed a glass, and she tried to nonchalantly observe James Potter. He was laughing and already filling Sirius's glass again. Ever since she had that dream of him, she couldn't get her mind off him.

She hoped that once she kissed him in real life, her mind would stop wandering to him all the time. She took a sip from her glass and noticed that Caradoc and Mary were talking in close proximity and laughing.

She sighed. It was going to be a long night.

By the time the clock ticked to midnight, nearly everyone in their group seemed achieved their goal of being smashed.

Sirius was holding onto his glass in one hand and gesturing wild stories with the other (and occasionally balancing himself as well). Most of the stories were just embarrassing Marauder stories, but they were nonetheless entertaining.

Mary and Caradoc were also pretty well off, sitting on a couch nearby laughing loudly and slurring slightly. Lily didn't know what to think of it, but she knew she didn't want to think too much into it.

Lily didn't know how much she had to drink, but she did know that she wasn't going to try to a back flip anytime soon. Actually, walking seemed difficult enough. Her brain felt fuzzy and her insides warm.

Peter yelled out, "Two more minutes!"

James seemingly popped out of nowhere, "I hope you haven't forgotten our deal."

Dorcas and Marlene, who were standing next to Lily at the time, looked at James questioningly.

"No, 'course not," Lily said.

Benjy came over to Marlene and wrapped his arm around her waist, "There's two more minutes until I kiss you." His words were slurring into one another.

"One minute!" someone yelled out.

"Scratch that," Benjy slurred some more, "one more minute."

James whispered into Lily's ear, "I have something of yours."

She ignored the goosebumps that appeared on her arm, "Yeah, what do you have?"

"Ten! Nine!" people began to count down.

"You'll have to kiss me first," James countered.

"Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

With that, James leaned into Lily and kissed her firmly and placed his hand on her hip. He moved back and looked at her expression. The urge to kiss him didn't disappear like she hoped, and instead, it multiplied. Something in her eyes must have told him as he leaned forward again and this time kissed her much softer. They separated for a moment before one last quick peck.

James twirled a section of her hair before pinning it back with something. Touching it, she realized it was the bobby pin that she left at Alice's during the Christmas party.

"Happy New Year, Lily," he said.

Lily replied softly, "Happy New Year to you too."

**Hey, so let's not kill me for this :) First off, I'd like to give a big thanks to dementorskiss xoxo for beta-ing this for me! This is a slightly shorter chapter, but I didn't want to keep filling stuff to get more word count. Instead, I'm focusing on the next chapter. I'm hoping since I'm on winter break, I'll get through the next chapter and some of the one after that.**

**As always, thanks to:**

**Jg13145, Socially Awkward Bunny, dementorskiss xoxo, MaddieMonkey13 and all of the new people who favorited/added to alerts!**


	21. 21 Back to Square One

Potter's New Year's party was more than Lily expected. Marlene and Sirius broke up after Christmas, and Benjy is not discreet about liking Marlene. Mary and Caradoc seem to hit it off at the party as well, and of course James doesn't forget about Lily's deal. At midnight, they kissed, and again, it was more than she expected.

Back to Square One

"_Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." _

_John Lennon_

Lily got home in the early morning the next day. She could see the sun was already rising out of her bedroom window. Eager to get to sleep, she changed quickly, jumped into her bed and fell asleep promptly.

She woke up the next morning to a pecking at her window. Half asleep, she opened the window. She recognized the owl to be James Potter's. She untied the letter and placed it on her desk. The owl flew out the window without even waiting for a treat.

Lily went back to her desk and opened the letter. She immediately saw the chicken scratch she recognized as James. As her eyes scanned down the letter, Lily felt the strangest emotion.

A smile appeared on her face that refused to disappear, but a feeling of dread as came upon her. When she finished the letter, she sighed to herself. Lily put the letter back on her desk and landed face first onto her bed.

It was much too early to answer a letter, right?

.:.

Lily looked out the window at a snowy King's Cross. Christmas Break had ended, and it was time to get back to Hogwarts… and reality. She spent days just sleeping in, reading her favorite books with a cup of tea and curled up in a blanket.

And mostly she didn't answer the letter that James sent her after the New Year's party. She was not looking forward to answering him in person in less than an hour, but she just couldn't find the right words to say when she tried to put her quill to parchment.

Her parents stopped in front of Platform 9 ¾ as always and bid their good-bye's. She ran through the platform and saw the familiar scarlet train. Climbing aboard, she navigated the crowded hallway to her usual compartment. Inside, everyone was sitting there except the person she was still dreading to see – James.

"Lily!" her friends greeted her as she opened the door.

"Lily, I need to talk to you," Mary jumped up out of her seat.

Without even waiting for her to answer, Mary pushed her out of the compartment and down the train.

"What on earth is this about, Mary?" Lily asked.

"Okay, I can't think of a way of phrasing this nicely, so I'm just going to come out and say it," Mary said taking a breath. "I kissed Caradoc at midnight at the Potter's party. I know you like him, and I feel horrible about it!"

Lily held up her hand to stop Mary, "Mary, it is fine. I don't think he's interested too much in me anymore, and to be honest, I never really had too much interest in him."

"Really?" Mary said.

Lily laughed, "Yes, it's completely fine if you fancy him too."

"Oh Lily," Mary said hugging her, "I thought you'd be so mad."

There was a moment of brief silence before Mary smiled, "So you and James? Huh?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "I was drunk, Mary."

"Well, drunk or not, how was it?" Mary prodded her.

"Mary!" Lily said, "I told you I was drunk!"

James spoke up behind them, "So that's your only thought about it?"

Mary looked like a deer in headlights, "I'll leave you two." She hurried back to their compartment.

Lily turned to face James, "Well, there's no denying it."

"I was too," James replied, "but that leaves no reason for not answering my letter I sent you."

Lily sighed, "Look, your party was fun, but I think it would be best if we just forget about it."

She felt she had no control of the words coming out of her mouth. Lily didn't really want to forget about it; she actually wanted to do it again. Whenever she glanced at his lips, it made her lips tingle in memory.

"I've wanted to kiss you since I met you on this train six years ago, and now that we finally did, you want me to just forget about it?" James said with his eyes raging.

Lily ran her fingers through her hair, "I don't know what to tell you."

"You could tell me that the kiss actually meant something to you," James said quietly as he stared at a spot behind Lily's head.

She sighed again and looked down at the ground. When she didn't answer, James stormed down the corridor and into the compartment.

Before James entered the compartment though, he looked at Lily one more time, "If you didn't feel the same, you could have at least told me before I made a fool of myself."

Lily looked back down at her feet in embarrassment. She slowly made her way back to her friends, and as she opened the door, she was surprised to see James was just fine – already playing exploding snap with Peter and Sirius. She sat back down and felt the eyes of her friend's on her.

"So Marlene, did you get an answer about your aunt?" Lily asked tried to break the tension.

"Oh, no, not yet. International owls take awhile," Marlene said.

The small talk continued for the rest of train ride and through dinner when they arrived at Hogwarts. Lily knew her friends wanted to know what was going on, but they were kind enough to wait until they were in their dormitory.

Well kind would be an overstatement. Alice slammed the door closed, "Spill the beans, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Well you all saw. James and I kissed on midnight. We were both drunk, like you all were."

"And he wrote a letter?" Mary said jumping onto her bed.

Lily looked at her friends in surprise, "You all heard that?"

"I think everyone on the train heard it," Alice said.

"Yeah…" Lily said putting her trunk in front of her bed.

"What did it say, Lily?" Dorcas said as if she was talking to a five year old.

"Dorcas, even you're interested?" Lily smiled.

"This has been going on for six years. Everyone is interested by now," Dorcas said crossing her arms across her chest. "What did the letter say?"

Lily sighed. There was no way to get out of it. She rummaged through her trunk and pulled it out, "Read it yourselves, my nosy friends."

They looked ridiculous while they all tried to peer to the parchment at the same time. Mary was the first one to finish, and she looked up at Lily with surprise, "And you didn't answer him? You're terrible, Lily."

"I didn't know what to say!" she protested.

"Was he that bad of a kisser?" Alice said incredulously.

She blushed, "No!"

"I think a simple thank-you would have been better than nothing, Lils," Dorcas said again.

"Oh don't be so harsh on her," Marlene said placing her arms around Lily's shoulders. "I think our Lily-dear is developing a crush on James Potter, but she's in denial."

"I do not have a crush on James Potter!" Lily said adamantly.

"Because you definitely didn't kiss him three times on New Year's versus once," Dorcas said cheekily.

The rest of the group looked at Lily in surprise.

"What?" Alice voiced.

Lily tried to control the blush across her face but failed, "I was drunk!" That excuse was really falling on deaf ears now.

"I think you should go talk to him," Marlene said softly.

"But I don't fancy him," Lily said pointlessly.

It was the best thing to do though. She felt terrible for what she was doing to him. Not answering his letter and ignoring him on the train… Not to mention it wasn't even what she really felt…

"Go talk to him still. You shouldn't leave the conversation like that," Dorcas said.

Everyone turned and looked at Dorcas.

"What?" she said defensively.

"When did you get so girly and in touch with feelings?" Alice said blatantly.

Dorcas glared at her, "It's my new year resolution."

"What? Being feminine?" Mary said.

Dorcas glared at Mary now, "I'm trying it out. I think I gave some pretty good advice."

Marlene spoke up, "That's true, but I really think Lily needs to take it inside of just hiding in here."

Her friends' eyes were all on her, and Lily stood from her bed, "Fine, I'll go talk to him."

Lily walked down the stairs slowly and looked in the common room for the familiar raven hair sticking out in a million directions. There was only a few younger years sitting on the couches in front of the fire. She slowly made her way up the boy's dormitory stairs.

When she reached the sixth year's room, she raised her hand to knock on the door. Before she could knock though, she heard voices from inside.

"I'm serious! I'm done chasing her!" James's voice came muffled through the door.

"No, I'm Sirius!" Sirius said.

There was a sound of something heavy being thrown and hitting the target. "Ouch," Lily heard Sirius say.

"So if Evans came up to you and demanded that you snog her right then and there, you would say no?" Peter said.

"Of course I would say yes. Do you see how fit she is?" James replied.

Lily dropped her hand. So that was what James saw in her. She hurried back down the stairs, her feelings hurt, and now she was more confused than ever.

Unfortunately, she missed the end of the conversation when Remus said, "You're not over her, Prongs."

He sighed, "No, I figure I'm not."

.:.

Professor Slughorn walked into the dungeon classroom late like usual. "Hello class," his voice boomed across the room, "this potion is something we discussed earlier in the year but didn't brew."

He gestured to the potion with a purple shine sitting in front of the classroom, "Yes, hiccupping solution. I usually don't let sixth years brew it, but I'm experimenting with you. Besides, I'm lucky enough to have such talented pupils in this year." Professor Slughorn smiled at Lily.

"For this particular potion, I will be switching your usual partners to ensure everyone's safety." He rambled off a list of partners and Lily listened for her name.

"Lily Evans and Remus Lupin! Oh that pair is so talented; it will put the others to shame!" Slughorn smiled again at Lily.

Remus moved his books next to Lily, "Hello Lily."

Lily smiled, "How's it going Remus?"

"Oh it's been fine. I'll go get the ingredients. Could you prepare the cauldron?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Lily said. She lit the fire under the cauldron and lowered it to a suitable size.

Remus returned quickly with the ingredients and carefully placed them on the table.

"Oh, thank you, Remus," Lily said. She began to slice while Remus started to crush some beetle eyes finely.

"Lily, may I ask you a question?" he said as he continued crushing.

Lily bit her lip, "I guess."

"Why is it that you have cut off James completely since New Years?" he asked nonchalantly as he dumped the fine powder into the cauldron.

Lily looked at him in surprise, "Well, I'm assuming you know what happened at midnight."

Remus nodded, "And about the letter he sent."

_Damn letter,_ she thought to herself. She cleared her throat, "Okay Remus, I'm going to just to tell you the truth. Just try to not to judge me."

Remus laughed, "I promise I will not judge you."

Lily smiled, "Thank you. Well I felt terrible about what happened. When I talked to the girls, they made me feel worse. I regretted not saying anything on the train too, so I went to go talk to him. I was about to knock on your dormitory door when I overheard… an interesting conversation."

Remus looked at her in surprise, "Oh, Lily! It wasn't like that. What did you hear?"

"I hear him say, 'Do you see how fit she is?' before I left," Lily said adding more ingredients.

"Oh Lily," Remus repeated. "It wasn't like that at all. He was just mad."

Lily shrugged, "He sounded pretty sincere to me."

Remus sighed, "You of all people should know that James says things when he's mad."

Lily sighed and didn't answer.

"Okay, how about we talk about something else and finish this potion?" Remus resigned.

Lily added the crushed roots to the cauldron, "I agree. How about those Cannons?"

Remus laughed, "You're skilled in small talk, Lily."

Lily laughed too, "And you know how to make a girl feel special, Remus."

.:.

Later that same day, Lily was walking back from library after finishing a tedious Transfiguration essay. It had taken hours, and Lily struggled with the concepts more than she enjoyed. She was just looking forward to taking a long hot shower and going right to sleep.

"Hey, Evans!" James's voice came from behind. "Wait up!"

She stopped walking and sighed. This wasn't going to go well.

"I talked to Remus today," he said when he caught up with her.

"That's good. Remus is a fun person to talk to," she said trying to delay the conversation.

"What?" he looked at her in confusion. "Well anyways, he told me why you've been avoiding me like the plague, and I think we need to talk."

She inhaled slowly, "I'm listening."

He glared her for a second before continuing, "I didn't want for you to hear that. I was just mad and ranting."

"Well it showed me that I don't want to be around a guy like you!" Lily glared at him.

"Bloody hell, Lily! You can't trust me because I rant? Isn't that calling the kettle black a little bit?" James said not standing down.

"God, James! It's like every time I try and trust you, you give me a reason to not to!" Lily snapped at him.

"You hearing something you weren't supposed to shouldn't be a reason not to trust me!" he snapped right back.

"So what you're saying is that I should trust someone who says things behind my back?" Lily placed her hands on hip angrily. Her glare was daring him to contradict him.

"You know what? You wouldn't have been there if you didn't feel something on New Year's!" he fired back, taking Lily by surprise.

"Because we had one good kiss while drunk doesn't mean I felt anything!" she answered.

James smirked, "So you think it was a good kiss?"

All Lily wanted to do was wipe the grin off his face, "Peter would've been a good kisser with that much alcohol in my system!"

His smirk refused to disappear, "Do you want me to prove it wasn't because we were drunk?"

"Are you kidding me right now?" Lily practically screamed.

"You can't deny that you felt something," James responded coolly.

"Really? Because I'll tell you right now: it was nothing!" Lily tried to reply in an equally cool tone.

"If it was nothing, then you wouldn't mind doing it again?" he continued to smirk. "Then it'll prove me wrong."

Lily started walking away, "I'm not kissing you, you prat."

James followed her, "Fine." He muttered to himself, "But eventually we will."

Lily kept storming ahead, "Not happening, Potter! Not now, not ever!"

She approached the Fat Lady portrait who spoke up, "You tell him, dearie."

**I actually got through this chapter faster than I thought. Special thanks to my brilliant beta – dementorskiss xoxo!  
Thanks to jg13145 for reviewing, St Walker for all 20 reviews and all of you who favorited/subscribed!**

**Happy New Year! And don't forget to leave a review :)**


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